Baton Rouge has such an amazing pool of tech talent! We saw this first-hand at this year’s Activate Conference, which hosted its first Hackathon this year, presented by Antares. The conference itself began two years ago by a handful of local, dedicated tech professionals who wanted to engage the tech community, particularly students and young adults, and bolster interest in the technology field regionally. The Hackathon, which was held on Feb. 23, was an amazing way to showcase the talent we have here in Baton Rouge. One of the things that excited Antares most about this Hackathon is that the winning application may be adopted and integrated into the city’s code base. This gives young, emerging tech talent an opportunity see their application used in real life to the benefit of their city.
Several teams consisting of four to six participants each used Baton Rouge’s Open Data Portal to develop a creative technology solution that improves the way the city works. The applications developed at the event included:
The winning teams were Tiger Bytes (student team), who created the web app to help people looking to move to Baton Rouge better understand the area; and Jabberwocky (professional team), who created the chat box for reporting blight. The City Council will review the projects to determine how they will be implemented in real life.
Congratulations to the winners, as well as the other participants, for such a spectacular showcase! As a Baton Rouge-based company, Antares hopes to see more of these valuable, local opportunities for young tech enthusiasts.
Team Tiger Bytes:
Team Jabberwocky:
