Nottingham City Council is again proudly supporting Hack24; a 24 hour coding competition in Nottingham city centre which was first held in the Broadway Cinema in 2015.
The event which promises to be as vibrant, energetic, fascinating and fun as in previous years brings together participants and major players from Nottingham’s Creative and Digital sector and aims to showcase to local and national audiences just how serious and well-formed Nottingham’s tech community really is.
During this year’s non-stop 24 hour Hack which takes place on 18 and 19 March, more than 136 “hackers” will be bunked down in the Council House where up to 40 teams of software engineers and developers will collaborate and battle to tackle a series of coding challenges set by sponsors including MHR, Accelerate Places, Cronofy, Esendex, eLife, Packed Pixels and Unidays. Two other IT sector companies Cordius and GitHub also sponsor the event but don’t set the coders challenges.
Councillor Nick McDonald, Portfolio Holder for Business, Growth and Transport, said; “Nottingham City Council is proud to be able to support this superb event which promises to be as popular and energetic as ever this year. Nottingham is well known as a vibrant city which attracts a high calibre of entrepreneurs from the creative and tech industries and the return of Hack24 shows how important they are as part of the city’s jobs market.
“Hack24 will also strengthen the networks and community which is developing around the Digital Tech sector in Nottingham and by reducing the barriers for collaboration between enterprises will benefit Nottingham by supporting business growth and providing jobs locally.”
Hack24 is not just about being a creative and enjoyable experience for the participating “Hackers” but brings benefits to Nottingham from its association with such an innovative and high profile event. A thriving tech community enhances the city’s attractiveness for inward investment and sustains local businesses in a market that is dominated by London.
As well as the technical challenges of the 24 hour hackathon, Tech Nottingham the organisers of Hack24 recognise that the event is also about bringing people together and forming a community. Many people who have met through Hack24 and other Tech Nottingham events have found jobs, started businesses, made business connections and become lifelong friends.
Winning Hacks last year included a programmable robot arm which serves as a teaching tool for children, an app that lets people login to services by taking a selfie, a social video game, an app to help companies visualise the skills in their organisation and an app to help home workers socialise.
Event organiser Andrew Seward, of Tech Nottingham, said: “Hack24 this year is our biggest and most popular event ever. It’s not just a great opportunity to bring together Nottingham’s tech community and celebrate their talent and creativity, it’s also a great showcase of Nottingham’s thriving tech industry and statement to the world about what we’re doing and where we’re heading.”