Bhutan’s first hackathon, which was organised recently in Thimphu, saw 65 participants taking part in the competition. Hackathon is a competition among software developers to give solutions to existing problems in the society.
In the two-day competition, 14 teams worked on developing useable applications. The teams were judged based on sustainability, execution, impact and originality. The winning teams were awarded cash prizes and certificates.
An online quiz platform team won the first prize. The team developed an application to make learning fun through play as children these days are obsessed with electronics and the internet.
The second position was bagged by team Semchen Sungjab. They developed a system for farmers to curb human-wildlife conflict. And fast order system, an application for restaurants to take orders took the third place.
The winning teams through an intense mentoring and coaching program for six months will get to develop their projects at the Bhutan Innovation and Technology Centre in the tech park.
The competition was organised by Thimphu TeckPark to provide opportunities for innovation, development and employment and promoting the growth of IT industry in the country.
“We were expecting only 20 to 30 participants. But the good turnout indicates that we have good programmers,” Tshering Cigay Dorji (PhD), the CEO of Thimphu TechPark, said.
“Many people have the misconception that there is no opportunity for IT graduates. But if you are an IT graduate and can program well, there is no way of unemployment issue. Even at the IT Park, quite a few of the software companies are looking for good programmers and are unable to find one.”
