GovTech Hackathon to Bring Pakistanis Together to Solve Local & Global Challenges
ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
Code for Pakistan is collaborating with its partners KP IT Board and The World Bank to hold a weekend-long GovTech Hackathon across the country from October 8th to 10th. The GovTech Hackathon will be a bringing-together of all citizens who want to play to their strengths and contribute towards solving challenges — no matter how big or small — through technology.
The event will be held in Durshal, Peshawar for a select number of vaccinated participants, and virtually for any individuals or teams that would like to compete for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes of 250,000 pkr; 150,000 pkr; and 100,000 pkr. So far, the Hackathon has garnered interest from hundreds around the country, and applications to participate will close at 11:59 PM on Sunday, October 3rd.
The GovTech Hackathon has lined up a number of speakers and mentors to keep participants motivated, who will be guiding teams in areas of critical thinking and problem solving. Confirmed to mentor and/or speak at the GovTech Hackathon are the following experts: Hannia Zia, Product Manager at Google; Shamyl Bin Masoor, LearnOBots; Huma Imdad, Development Specialist; Ali Moeen, Roamer; Huma Hamid, Cisco; Azmat Ali, LMKR; Muhammad Komail Abbas, FindMyAdventure; Zeeshan Sohail, Nestle; Zillay Mariam Sohail, Environment Specialist; Dr. Cedric Edwin, CECOS University of IT and Emerging Sciences; Dr. Ayesha Farooq, Al-Nafees Medical College; Imran Zualkernan, American University of Sharjah ; Hira Javaid, Foster Learning; Prateek Sibal, UNESCO; Saeed Ul Hassan, Amalgar Consulting; and Salman Tariq, CEO, Devaam.
The solutions for the GovTech Hackathon will cover a number of themes, across the areas of travel & tourism, education, health, environment, and mobility, though participants are encouraged to submit problem statements that do not fall into those select categories.
Of her experience mentoring with Code for Pakistan at a previous hackathon, Dr. Bushra Anjum, Senior Analytics Manager, Doximity, San Francisco, USA, said “The passion and energy of the participants were infectious. I especially remember talking to a young man from a remote location near Peshawar whose project idea was to create an exercise app for women as he has seen women in his area constrained by cultural expectations (going to the gym is not an option). What a brilliant idea, and that too by a young man inspired by the women in his family. Then there was another project about the ambulance-hospital coordination app, again timely and impressive.”