UC open-source competition collab gives innovators a chance to win

The University of Canberra, in collaboration with the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) and software company Instaclustr will hold an OpenSource Hackathon competition later this month with a prize of $10,000 on offer for the winning team.

Taking place from 22 – 26 November, the competition will see teams of three to six come up with innovative ideas using open-source technology. Registration is free, and currently open.

Hackathons have gained immense popularity as an opportunity to bring diverse teams together, who work within a short timeframe or sprint to build solutions that could potentially solve real world problems.

Computer programmers play an important role in open-source technology, but teams with diverse skillsets could be the ones coming away with the top prize.

Throughout the competition, keynote speakers, industry experts, and mentors will be available to help teams make the most of their ideas with the winning pitch taking away $10,000 and access to the Canberra Innovation Network co-working space.

The conference will be hosted virtually, allowing participants from all over to compete.

This may invigorate competition for one of the two challenge streams, which centres around launching a high-growth business – focussed on creating a unique tech solution with huge market potential.

But there is a strong local focus to the other stream of the competition, which challenges teams to come up with novel ways to address some of the big issues faced by Canberra and its surrounding regions.

Director of Research and Innovation at the University, Dr Milica Symul said that the competition will spotlight the exciting work around innovation in Canberra, and the ideas that come out of this competition have a real chance to be impactful and drive change.

“The University is thrilled to collaborate on the OpenSource Hackathon with the Canberra Innovation Network and Instaclustr. Events like this highlight how technology and innovation can contribute – and I look forward to seeing what ideas come out of the competition,” Dr Symul said.

“The top prize aside, the participants will have invaluable access to experts, mentoring and networking – and that’s what this is about, investing in local innovators and talent.”

The OpenSource Hackathon competition runs from 22 – 26 November. To find out more and register your team, visit the hackathon page.

Originally posted by Kalyx Jorgensen on the University of Canberra website, canberra.edu.au.