'What’s This' App Wins Broward College 2017 Hackathon

The 24-hour challenge had Broward County college and university students creating programs which will benefit the community.

DAVIE, FL (October 18, 2017) – More than 75 students from Broward College, universities, and local high schools worked together in teams to develop a range of applications and software during the third annual 24-hour BC Hackathon this past weekend. "Best Overall" was awarded to Team What's This? for its program, a mobile photo recognition application which helps identify and describe items, including foods.

"Each of you should be very proud of the work, creativity, and collaboration you have invested into your project the past 24 hours," said Broward College President J. David Armstrong, Jr. to the student teams. "Hands-on experiences like today's hackathon supplement what you are learning in the classroom and give you new perspective into how important technology is to our daily lives. I hope you take the lessons you've learned into your studies and your future career."
  
BC Hackathon, sponsored by Ultimate Software, Inc., Agile Element, and One to One Group, featured a number of workshops to help the students develop their projects, while technology experts provided mentorship and guidance on the use of different programming platforms and presentation tips.

Chris Caputo, President of Agile Element; Tim Hasse, Founder & CEO of TRIM Agency; Denise Mendez, Software Test Automation Engineer at Magic Leap; and Brent Lewis, Software Engineer at Microsoft served as judges during the final presentations. The celebratory atmosphere was electric, and mentors cheered loudly as BC Hackathon supporters threw t-shirts into the crowd and raffle prizes such as drones were given to participants.

Winning projects were selected in the following five categories:

• Best Overall: What's This, a mobile photo recognition application which identifies foods and other foreign objects. Student creators: Adrian Silva, Cecilia Constantine, Jorge Ortiz, Manuel Peña, and Tangy Frederick.
• Most Innovative Idea: Res-Q-Me, a mobile application in which users can register as 'rescuers' or 'rescuees' during disasters, helping to pinpoint people in distress and coordinate volunteer search efforts. Student creators: Nilson Pires, Camille Almodovar, Amy Carbonell, Susan Moreno, and Michael Werner.
• Best Presentation: BookSwap, an application in which students create a mobile library of textbooks which can be swapped, shared, or sold to students nearby. Student creators: Angel Valles, Narvin Williams, John Acosta, Leslie Aries, and Dylan Watson.  
• Crowd Favorite: Lingo!, an interactive application which not only translates common phrases but also identifies if the slang has a positive or negative connotation. Student creators: Cesar Marquez, Edgardo Hernandez, Mariana Perez, Oliver Garcia, and Stefan Buggle.  
• Code for a Cause(this prize is awarded to a project addressing a social or civic need related to sustainability, education, public health or transportation): Team Teer created a platform which matches donors and volunteers to organizations which best fit their interests and passions. Student creators: Thiago Novaes, Weing Leung, Gustavo Cordido, Darnel Joseph, and Ester Sims.

Each year, the BC Hackathon is hosted by the Broward College Computer Science Department and coordinated by Michelle Levine, Professor of Computer Science and Robert Davis, CAPTURE Program Manager. As part of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Pathway at Broward College, the Computer Science Department offers a wide range of associate's degrees and two bachelor's degrees in technology management and information technology.

Photos courtesy Downtown Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/browardcollege/albums/72157687409855130