The Canadian Open Data Experience (CODE) kicked off its 48-hour hackathon last month and the event once again was a massive success. Last year the government declared it to be the “largest competitive hackathon in Canada” with over 900 developers pining for their app to claim the cash prize, but this year saw “a record-breaking 1303 participants” who created 125 different apps.
As previously reported, CODE asked developers to focus on three categories of apps — Youth, Commerce and Quality of Life. After a tough battle, five finalists from each category were chosen to compete for $40,000 in prizes.
At an event in Toronto, Tony Clement, Canada’s President of the Treasury Board, announced the winners for each category:
Quality of Life category:
- Team Neighbourfood with Neighbourfood app. Empowers Canadians to make healthy food choices as part of a healthy lifestyle, while encouraging them to engage with their local community. Team consists of Neil Gentleman, Amelia Hardjasa, Fergus Kung and Ivan Zverev, of Vancouver, BC.
Youth category:
- Team Niew Labs with Career Path by Niew Labs app. The application is aimed at helping Canadian youth discover, research and choose future career paths. Team consists of Jigdel Kuyee, Rob McDiarmid, Daniil Shevelev and Lev Perelman, of Toronto and Vaughan, ON.
Commerce: Business Opportunities category:
- Team Farm Canada with Farm Canada app. Farm Canada contains the historical data you need to make informed decisions and to keep you current. Team consists of Adam Michaleski and Steven Michaleski, of Calgary, AB andWinnipeg, MB.
Fan Favourite Voting competition award goes to Team “Bear Paws” who participated from the BCTIA (BC Technology Industry Association). As for the best student team came, this was awarded to the SFU Data Crunchers.
Grand Champion of CODE 2015 is Niew Labs!
Each category winner scores $5,000 in prize money, and the student and fan favourite awards also receive $5,000. The “Grand Champion” also secures an additional $15,000 in cash.