The third annual Hackathon brought together 10 Ark schools as part of an event where students compete, work together, and showcase their computing prowess.
Designing an app that can tackle climate change issues is challenging, but students rose to the occasion and took their skills to the next level by presenting a pitch for their app to a panel of judges from our sponsor, Marshall Wace.
Isaac Newton's winning pitch
Congratulations to our winning team, who devised an innovative app that provided a way to monitor water usage and took steps to improve water accessibility and sustainability on a global scale. To award their ingenuity, the team walked away with their very own Sphero RVR Programmable Robot – just one of many exciting prizes of the day!
As an all-girl team, our winners bring to light an important issue of the gender divide and lack of diversity in the computing world. Our winners are a testament to the exciting progress changing the sector.
Real-life context and applications of Hackathon
As echoed by the teachers and students who attended, what makes Hackathon stand out is how it offers a welcome departure from the typical classroom setting. Students got a taste of computing in a real-life context and could channel their skills, knowledge, and interest in the subject and apply them to global issues of the day.
One Isaac Newton student said they really enjoyed how it "... puts you under pressure, and also makes you think right on the spot…what you need to do – it puts you in that real-time and space, where you get into that mode."
Congratulations to all!
