Starting Tomorrow: 42.195-Hour SW Convergence Hackathon... Total Prize Money 51 Million Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Seolgina Jo] The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 28th that it will hold the '8th Korea SW Convergence Hackathon' under the theme of 'Leading the Digital New Deal using Software (SW) Convergence Technology' from the 29th to 31st at event venues in 11 regions nationwide, including Changwon, Gyeongnam.

The hackathon is a compound word of 'Hacking' and 'Marathon,' an event where participants plan ideas and go through programming processes over 42.195 hours (3 days without sleep) to create prototype results.

This competition will be conducted in a non-face-to-face manner, with a total of 33 teams that passed regional preliminaries carrying out projects at event venues in 11 regions nationwide. It operates with three tasks: a free task (development of SW convergence products and services based on DNA), and two designated tasks (development of SW convergence products and services responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and development of smart manufacturing technology products and services applying SW convergence). Participants are composed of middle, high school, and university students aged 15 and older, as well as the general public interested in SW convergence technology, who passed regional preliminaries from June 6 to 19.

During the competition, regional expert mentor groups will support participants' capacity building as guides for project idea planning and development direction improvement.

Prizes are awarded for one free task and two designated tasks. Three teams will receive the grand prize (Minister's Award, 5 million KRW), and 11 teams will receive excellence awards (NIPA·City/Province Governor's Award, 3 million KRW). The total prize money amounts to approximately 51 million KRW. The award ceremony will be conducted through avatars using metaverse technology.

Kim Jeongsam, Director of Software Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “We will continuously support the cultivation of SW talent and the development of the SW industry, which are core to the national digital transformation, from the perspective of government innovation (active administration), so that SW talents nationwide can dream of a world transformed by software.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.