The Ministry of Public Telecommunications (MoPT) in collaboration with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) will be hosting this year’s Hackathon and each team will have at least one woman.
Under the theme, “Drilling towards a technological future”, the 2020 Hackathon was launch-ed yesterday during a press conference held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. There, the Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, and the Commissioner of the GGMC, Newell Dennison, expressed their excitement to see what this year’s teams will bring to the activity.
For the 2020 Hackathon, a new rule has been incorporated to guarantee women a spot on every team and that they are offered the opportunity to be a part of the tech world. The MoPT announced that each team which can have a number of 2-5 persons must have a woman as a team member and also a UG student. “Hopefully more woman will come onboard and participate in the Hackathon,” the Minister said at the launch.
Hughes also expressed her pleasure to be partnering with the GGMC for this year’s Hackathon.
“We are happy to be partnering with the Guyana Geology and Mines,” the Minister started. In giving some background about the reasons behind this year’s collaboration, Hughes explained that the Ministry has noticed the impact that the Hackathons have had on other industries since its 2016 launch and that together with the GGMC, it is hoped that the mining sector is impacted the same way. She added that the Hackathon will not only benefit the agency but also the persons participating. “… it is an excellent opportunity for all the software developers, anyone involved and interested in developing applications,” she said, before elaborating that “… they will have an opportunity to work on providing a solution. We know that there are real challenges and we want to find solutions for those challenges.”
The Minister also made mention of an agriculture exchange software, which they have been testing and are hoping that the app will help farmers to meet more clients and vice versa. The minister said that the idea for the app and start of its existence was during a Hackathon where persons spent 48 hours locked in a room in an effort to come up with ideas to perfect the app and make it workable.
She additionally said that previous Hackathons have come up with solutions that are going to make positive things happen in Guyana. “By 2025 they say 70 per cent of jobs in the world will require ICT [Information and Communication Technology],” Hughes pointed out during the press conference.
Dennison also spoke at the press conference and noted that the agency is enthusiastic to be a part of the initiative that will be sure to benefit the mining sector. He said that while the GGMC has not transitioned to an ICT agency, they are looking forward for the changes that are ahead. He also noted that the activity is going to bring a blend of advancement in the agency’s best interest.
At the press conference, the MoPT outreach coordinator, Denolla Collison, informed that the first-prize winners of the Hackathon would get an opportunity to work with the GGMC while they develop the software app. Second- prize winners will receive $300,000, while third place gets $200,000. The Hackathon will start on March 13th and will end on March 15th.
Persons interested in participating can sign up at mopt.gov.gy.
