The Canadian Open Data Experience kicks off its second hackathon on Friday, February 20th. CODE 2015, is the country’s only government-sponsored competitive hackathon and this year organizers of the 48-hour challenge have raised the prize from $30,000 to $40,000.
The goal of the compettion is to build mobile and Web applications app using federal government data from Canada’s Open Government portal and by “mashing-up” data from all levels of government.
The competition is open to anyone 18 years or older. The focus for the apps this year will be baded around youth, commerce and quality of life. There are three VIP hubs that developers can participate in: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Participants can also register at a Partner Hub spaces across the country.
The top 15 teams will be invited to present their applications to judges at the CODE Pitch Day on March 16 in Toronto. The finalists will be announced and awared their share of the $40,000 cash prize at the CODE Grand Finale in Toronto on March 26.
The compettion is also a networking event for developers and would-be developers looking to kickstart their career or find a future boss, mentor, co-founder or investor.
Last year, nine hundred people participated in the event and 1110 apps were created.