Three Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) students are set to represent Zimbabwe in the 2020 International Hackathon set for Geneva, Switzerland in April.
The trio Christopher Chinyamakobvu, Munyaradzi Muneka and Elvin Kakomo’s won the bid to represent Zimbabwe after coming out winners at the inaugural edition of a local version of the same innovation contests held in Kadoma last week.
The event which was organised by Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) saw students from all nine Universities across the country competing against each other in coming up with the best possible team to represent Zimbabwe.
A smart alert mechanism by CUT students to facilitate rapid response from medical services walked away with the prize money of ZWL$1 000 000 for the school.
Speaking during the event POTRAZ Director-General Gift Machengete stressed that the event seeks to build capacity for youth to come up with home-grown solutions to challenges the country is facing.
“Looking at the bigger picture, apart from the International Hackathon finals in Switzerland, the aim of this event is to build capacity among youth to develop home-grown solutions to the different socio-economic challenges bedevilling our country,” he said.
Machengete also assured that POTRAZ will facilitate grants for individuals with bankable prototypes to their innovative idea.
“POTRAZ decided to review the structure of the Innovation Drive to include the use of Hackathons as a way of identifying projects that the Authority could support. Through this model, innovators will be given an opportunity to showcase their ideas and develop them into
prototypes. Those with bankable prototypes will be provided with seed capital, in the form of grants, to develop their ideas further into tangible solutions,” said Machengete.
The international Hackathon will be running under the theme “Hack for Smart and Sustainable Cities.”
