Running Toward the Metaverse Capital... Finale of the 'Gyeongbuk Hackathon Competition'

13 Teams Participate in Social Issue Solutions Using Metaverse

Kyungwoon University Wins Grand Prize for Content Addressing School Communication Gaps

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-sun] The 'Metaverse Capital Gyeongbuk Hackathon' competition, held over three days and nights, concluded on the 17th with the selection of awardees.

A hackathon is a collaborative project combining hacking and marathon, where ideas are generated and results produced within a limited time in one place.

This competition, organized by Gyeongbuk Province, was a follow-up event to the 'Gyeongbuk-type Talent Development-Employment-linked Metaverse Academy' project. Thirteen teams, including university students and the general public from the Gyeongbuk area, participated from the 15th for three consecutive days and nights at the Gyeongbuk ICT Innovation Square located in Gimcheon.

The Gyeongbuk-type Talent Development-Employment-linked Metaverse Academy is a talent development project operated through cooperation between Gyeongbuk Province and Pohang University of Science and Technology, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Andong National University, and Yeungnam University to cultivate metaverse experts equipped with the expertise and practical skills required by companies.

The competition, themed on developing public services that can contribute to solving and preventing social problems using the metaverse, saw three teams named as awardees.

The grand prize was awarded to the 'Upgrade' team, composed of students from Keun University, for their communication bus school information sharing service project, winning a prize of 3 million won.

The Upgrade team was evaluated for proposing various solutions to the lack of communication within schools due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing the global metaverse platform Minecraft.

The excellence award went to the Kumoh National Institute of Technology's 'FRESHMEN' team (Let's Get Closer, Intergenerational Communication), and the encouragement award was given to Kumoh National Institute of Technology's 'Metapass' team (Metafarm, Metaverse Agricultural Experience), receiving 2 million won and 1 million won respectively.

The excellent teams will be provided with free use of startup incubation spaces equipped with laptops, VR devices, and other equipment for service development for one year.

Additionally, on the 24th, there will be opportunities to visit Microsoft Korea and various follow-up support programs, including providing lists of outstanding personnel to local companies.

Lee Dal-hee, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeongbuk Province, said, "We discovered a passionate enthusiasm and infinite potential for the metaverse," adding, "We will create an environment where local talents can fully demonstrate their digital capabilities and take on challenges to nurture world-class experts."

Gyeongbuk Province plans to train 2,520 personnel by 2026 through developing talent development programs by type such as development, creation, and content, as well as project-based curriculum development for sustainable metaverse talent cultivation.

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