Utah’s Largest Hackathon Brings Together Top Collegians from Across the U.S. for a Marathon Coding Competition

Galileo, the Salt Lake City-based company that powers world-leading financial technology businesses, is proud to be the lead sponsor of the University of Utah’s 2019 two-day HacktheU hackathon, bringing together an expected 400 top computer science collegians from Utah and campuses across the U.S. to compete for more than $4,500 in prizes. The competition will start at 9 a.m. MT on Saturday, Oct. 5 and conclude at 5 p.m. MT on Sunday, Oct. 6 at the Marriott at University Park. Admission is free, but hackers must have pre-registered.

“HacktheU is a highlight on Galileo’s calendar,” said Galileo CEO Clay Wilkes, who will be the keynote speaker at the event. “Our sponsorship helps bring together students who are the next generation of software developers and who will code the future of business, philanthropy, the environment and—close to my heart—financial technology.”

First-, second- and third-place prizes will be awarded for the best hacks. A separate prize also will be awarded to a student or student team that uses Galileo’s open APIs to build their hack.

“Galileo team members will be out in force around the clock to coach, mentor and deliver food and caffeine to students during the hackathon,” Wilkes continued. “We love the energy and ideas that fill the room when you get a bunch of smart students together and give them the tools to code creatively. We’re absolutely inspired by them.”

Hackathons provide those involved in tech—particularly developers, computer programmers and others in software development—with the opportunity to collaborate intensively to create working software or hardware during the duration of the event. The competitive atmosphere and interaction with other participants stimulate participants’ creativity and problem-solving abilities, while the time limit requires participants to distil their concepts into actionable solutions. Successful businesses that have evolved from apps created during hackathons include Carousell, GroupME (acquired by Skype), Docracy, Zapier and Appetas.