Young developers worldwide are continually designing innovative software, creating diversified applications to entertain users with technological aspirations. The Microsoft Mobile Hackathon 2014 has begun in North, Central and Southern regions of Vietnam. This is the first time the competition has been held at DTU, and, from May 17th to 18th, sixty-eight students in the central region competed with each other. A DTU student won first prize for programming a Windows Phone 8 and will move on to program other international products for further awards.
DTU presents "Alo Taxi" at the competition
Mr. Said Zahe Dani, Development Platform Director of Microsoft in the Asia-Pacific region said:
“In recent years, Vietnam in general and especially Danang have significantly developed their IT capabilities and DTU students have demonstrated their skills in big competitions. I love Vietnam and am deeply impressed by your inventions, particularly the 'Flappy Bird'. I have discussed opening up an Application Development Center in Vietnam and we have meetings about Vietnamese Applications every Tuesday morning. I would like to stimulate the creativity and know-how of IT students in order to develop some interesting new mobile applications through this competition.”
Pham Van Thu, center, won first prize in the Central Region HACKATHON 2014
HACKATHON 2014 is an international competition, with annual contests previously held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for many years. Because of the recent significant IT growth in the Central Region, Microsoft chose DTU to host HACKATHON 2014. In this competition, teams must program applications using Windows Phone 8, Windows 8 and Universal. Eighty percent of the applications were completed before the competition began and the rest were completed during the contest. Regarding to the quality of HACKATHON 2014, Mr. Huynh Toan, the Head Judge, said:
“I highly regard the competitiveness and quality of the applications developed by students in Central Vietnam. For some operating systems, we do not award prizes for students in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, but still award prizes to local students because of their creativity. The careful and professional organization of this international competition by DTU has significantly contributed to its success. We are happy because the Central Region HACKATHON 2014, with its valuable prizes, has left a deep impression.”
The judges awarded two First prizes and three Second prizes for applications using Windows Phone 8, Windows 8 and Universal. With Road Construction product, Pham Van Thu, a member of the DTU Lucky P team won first prize in the Windows Phone 8 section. In this puzzle, players must construct routes to conquer countries on a map. With its simple design and bright images, this road construction game helps players to conquer new territories.
Thai Van Long, a student of the Loluto team from the Danang University of Science and Technology won first prize in the Windows 8 section. He said: “With HACKATHON 2014, taking place at DTU, our dedicated IT students can improve their working skills, get to learn about new technology and share their experiences with each other. DTU has made excellent preparations for the success of the competition. It would be great if the competition can continue to take place here in the future so that IT students have a further opportunity to demonstrate their capability and passion.”
After the competition, prize-winning products in each region will be evaluated by Microsoft. The best application worldwide will win a $10,000 prize and a trip to the US. HACKATHON 2014 has confirmed the benefits that a global technology contest can offer students to discover themselves and start integrating themselves into the world of international technology.
(Media Center)