Joi Ito of MIT Media Lab, Alex Diaz of Yahoo, and Jeanne Mariani Sullivan of StarVest Partners L.P. to Judge Coding Contest as Prizes Reach $60,000
New York, NY / Feb 05, 2014 / http://www.myprgenie.com/ via ACCESSWIRE / Dream it. Code it. Win it., a competition for student programmers, is proud to announce the addition of several visionaries and innovative entrepreneurs in the tech space to its judging panel:
- Joi Ito of the MIT Media Lab
- Alex Diaz of Yahoo!
- Jeanne Mariani Sullivan of StarVest Partners, L.P.
They join Mike Perlis, President and CEO of Forbes Media, and Philippe Buhannic, co-founder and CEO of TradingScreen Inc.
Dream It. Code It Win It. is designed to promote creativity, diversity, and literacy in the computer science field among college students. It will award more than $60,000 in cash and prizes (up from $50,000 at launch) to students 18 years or older, and enrolled at accredited institutions.
"Since the contest launched earlier this month, Dream It. Code It. Win It. has seen an incredible response, both from students and the world's most innovative technology companies," said Cristina Dolan, an officer of the MIT Enterprise Forum and former President of the MIT Club of New York. "Everyone has recognized the need for art, design, creativity, and diversity to assume a bigger role in computer science and STEM overall. The judges are people who have uniquely used technology in a creative way to gain a competitive advantage on their road to success."
Although there are many variations on hack-a-thons, Dream it. Code it. Win it. was launched to celebrate and reward computer science as a creative tool, and not just as a coding exercise. This approach is meant to encourage people of all backgrounds and genders to participate, particularly women, who make up just 23 percent of STEM workers, versus 48 percent of the total workforce, according to the National Math and Science Initiative.
The submission process on the contest's Facebook page will remain open until March 31, 2014. Social media voting will be an important element in determining semi-finalists. At the final, live event in New York City on April 30, 2014, the selected semi-finalists will present their creations before the judging panel, which will select winners and award prizes.
Enter to win Dream It. Code It. Win It.
Contact: David Zweifler, [email protected], 1 (212) 359-4018
Source: TradingScreen Inc.