Students of the degree in Computer Engineering (II) of the European University of the Atlantic (UNEATLANTICO), have participated in the seventh edition of Hack2Progress, held on 28 February and 1 March. It concluded with great success for UNEATLANTICO students, who won two of the three prizes of the event.
The hackathon, organised by CIC Consulting Informático, the University of Cantabria and SUM+LAB, focused this year on sustainable mobility, under the slogan: ‘Transform your city: Challenge for sustainable mobility’, challenging participants to use Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to promote innovative solutions applicable in this case to Santander.
The competition, which has become a key annual event in the technological field at regional level, in which four students of the degree in Computer Engineering won a prize in the 2018 edition, was attended by several teams representing UNEATLANTICO.
The teams worked intensively for two days to create innovative proposals, competing in three categories: Best Idea, Best Project and Best Presentation. Each of them valued different aspects of the work carried out, such as creativity, technical feasibility and clarity in presenting the solutions proposed. In this line, it should be noted that two teams formed by UNEATLANTICO students won the Best Project and Best Presentation categories, respectively
Natalia Cruz, student of the degree in Computer Engineering and winner of one of the categories highlighted the positive impact of this experience: ‘On a professional level, it is a challenge because you have to find your own way in a very short time. It helps you to get out of your comfort zone, to be more agile and creative and allows you to work better and be more productive in less time. He also pointed out the opportunity it gave him to network and meet people from his future professional environment.
Finally, Dr. Manuel Masías, dean of the Polytechnic School of UNEATLANTICO, stresses that: ‘it is experiences like this, away from the university environment and the comfort of “home” that allow us to validate the knowledge and values acquired during the degree, in a real and competitive context. With the added satisfaction of discovering that the way in which they have applied this knowledge has been fruitful. This is a great achievement for all the participants: we are extremely pleased with the experience they have had.