Next GlobalHack to Bring Computer Coders to Ferguson
A team presents their finished product to judges at GlobalHack 1.0 on February 2, 2014. (Michael Calhoun, KMOX)
Michael Calhoun
News
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Coders from across the country will descend on Ferguson next month.
It’s the third GlobalHack competition, where coders work through a 48-hour marathon to come up with a solution to a problem. The winner gets a $50,000 prize. This time, the sponsor is Ferguson-based Emerson, which will task the teams with a project for its ‘connected home’ division.
GlobalHack founder Gabe Lozano says holding the event in Ferguson was in the works before Emerson signed on. The goal is to demonstrate that people can come together, regardless of background, around a common purpose.
“People will actually see real diversity that is collaborating with each other — and not because it’s forced — because that’s what happens when you put smart people together,” Lozano told KMOX News.
He said GlobalHack’s founders don’t want the region to “heal artificially,” adding in a later news release that “bringing together a diverse group of people to build great software is a micro example of what is possible as the St. Louis community searches for opportunities to achieve forward progress.”
The prior two GlobalHack competitions have brought programmers to St. Louis from coast-to-coast, and some have decided to move here after getting job offers from local companies.
The tech whizzes taking part this time will be exposed to ground-level conditions in Ferguson, which may open some eyes and inspire some ideas.
“To me, that’s another big piece: forcing people to pay attention,” Lozano tells KMOX.
He says he’s still scouting locations in Ferguson, which is scheduled for December 5-7.
For more information: globalhack.org
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