After weeks of gruelling teamwork, Microsoft announces team Bloom as winners of the second season of its Africa Development Center (ADC) Game of Learners Virtual Hackathon. Team kaizen came in second place and Team Tulearn came in third to complete the winning three teams.
Season 2 of the Microsoft ADC Game of Learners virtual hackathon competition involved 60 undergraduate students from Nigeria and Kenya. With the teams taking on the challenge of solving the education accessibility problems in Africa using technology. The 12 teams had a diversity and gender balance of 30 females and males.
Team Bloom led by Bethany Jepchumba from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, designed the winning solution Bloom-Learn.
The solution features a digital platform with capabilities to link students and teachers across Africa. Teachers are able to upload classes, create one-on-one sessions with students, as well as communicate with students on each course via a chat forum. Students can use a booking session to connect with teachers. Bloom-Learn is built with Microsoft’s Azure App Service, Power platform and Microsoft 365.
The other Team Bloom members include Joy Kathure (Dedan Kimathi University, Kenya), Festus Idowu (Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria), Fortune Adekogbe (University of Lagos, Nigeria) and Afandi Indiatsi (Strathmore University, Kenya).
Jack Ngare, Microsoft ADC Kenya Managing Director, notes that Microsoft is committed to supporting these young innovators to develop some of their ideas into viable solutions.
Team Bloom gets the winning trophy and each member will receive a smartphone. They also get one-year Azure credits and one year LinkedIn Learning vouchers. Azure Developer exam voucher, digital certificate, digital badge, a swag bag, and one-on-one mentorship from preferred professionals for winning.
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12 teams made up of 60 university students across Kenya and Nigeria are participating in the second season of the Microsoft Africa Development Center, Game of Learners (GOL) virtual hackathon.
Over five weeks, the teams will take on the challenge of solving the education accessibility problems in Africa using technology. They will develop a solution, corresponding code and shippable product that will be judged by Microsoft and partners. Each team is led and captained by a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador.
The students will get access to developer resources and learn new technologies to build their products. Assisted by 40 volunteers from Microsoft who will train, mentor and coach them.
Meet the 12 Microsoft Hackathon Teams
Blooming education in Africa – Team Bloom
Team Crowducate – Crowd for education
Education to all – Team Elimisha
Team Kaizen – Change for better education
Making quality education accessible to Africans – Team Blazers
Team Tulearn –
Empowering every student – Team Eagle
Team Elite – Next stop, mass education
Aim for the peak – Team Peak
Where Africans can all be sabis – Team Sabi
Phoenix –
Team Shauku –
Each member of the winning team will be awarded with one year Azure credits, one year LinkedIn Learning vouchers, digital certificate and digital badge for winning and one on one mentorship from preferred professionals.
Follow the journey of the teams on social media platforms using the hashtag #GameOfLearners.
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Three teams have emerged winners of the Microsoft South Africa safe@home hackathon. Winning a prize pool of eight thousand US Dollars.
Six teams made it to the final qualifying round of the hackathon competition. With three teams Combat against GBV, iWitness and Report Matters going on to win it. Coming in first, second and third places and winning $5000, $2000 and $1000 respectively.
Microsoft sponsored the Safe@home hackathon to discover technology-based solutions that can address gender-based violence. An issue that saw a dramatic rise during the mandatory quarantine period of covid-19 in South Africa.
Winning Team, Combat against GBV presented an educational and interactive solution made to educate women and children on GBV. Using services such as a Twitter bot, USSD, WhatsApp chatbot and Facebook messenger. The solution also informs people on how to take action, find and ask for help. Members of Team Combat against GBV include; Naomi Bisimwa, Christine Bisimwa, Carol Khose and Mosa Nkomo.
The winning solution will be developed into a full application to be owned and used by the campaign’s NGO partners 1000 Women and TEARS Foundation.
We have seen a wealth of creative and sustainable ideas from our developer teams who have grappled with the unique issues and challenges surrounding gender-based violence in South Africa, says Lillian Barnard, Managing Director of Microsoft South Africa. The winning solution would effectively be able to help South Africa’s most vulnerable and at-risk.
Watch the six finalist teams present their ideas at the finals.
Microsoft South Africa, together with leading gender-based violence NPO partners, 1000 Women Trust and TEARS Foundation, launch Safe@Home Hackathon to address gender-based violence in South Africa.
The virtual hackathon event will run from 22 September to 19 October. It invites the South African developer community to create and develop technology-based solutions that will help victims of gender-based violence, vulnerable women and children.
Access to the right technology can enable a better and safer way for women and children to reach out for help.
“Gender-based violence is one of the most pressing and critical challenges South Africa faces: President Cyril Ramaphosa identified it as the second pandemic our country is currently battling and a war that is being waged against our women and children, with over 40% of South African women experiencing sexual and/or physical interpersonal violence in their lifetime,” says Lillian Barnard, Managing Director of Microsoft South Africa.
A study by the World Health Organisation, for example, found that 42 percent of females between 13 and 23 in the country reported experiencing physical dating violence. The incidence of unreported violence is much higher – and getting worse.
“Violence against women and children is escalating under the current circumstances, with many South Africans confined to their homes. This indicates a clear need to take action to address gender-based violence in South Africa,” says Tina Thiart, founder of 1000 Women.
Microsoft South Africa is pledging its support to helping address gender-based violence through the Safe@Home Hackathon. Hackathons are aimed at finding solutions to specific challenges through collaborative brainstorming and programming in a short space of time.
The Safe@Home Hackathon will look to facilitate collaboration to create and develop technology-based solutions that will work in the context of South Africa’s unique circumstances and challenges.
“Our goal is to find real, sustainable solutions to help South Africa’s most vulnerable and at-risk. Ensuring that we are able to build these kinds of fit-for-purpose technology-based solutions will require partnerships with developers, NGOs in the gender-based violence space like TEARS Foundation and 1000 Women, government, corporate South Africa and other technology players,” says Barnard.
“Together, we will provide the support needed as we call on developers across the country to come together, understand the issues surrounding gender-based violence, and create and develop technology-based solutions that can help save lives.”
Safe@Home in South Africa is replicating the successful initiative piloted by Microsoft Israel in partnership with the “Michal Sela Forum” – headed by the sister of a victim of gender-based violence – and the country’s developer community to create and develop technology-based solutions to help victims of gender-based violence. The hackathon resulted in the development of a number of applications that will be deployed in Israel to help other women and children who need it.
Likewise, South Africa’s hackathon aims help the country’s most vulnerable. The intention is that winning idea will be developed into a full application that will be deployed to support women across South Africa who need help, and make a difference in curbing gender-based violence in South Africa. The top three teams also stand to win cash prizes. The winners will be announced on 26 October.
“I look forward to exploring the possibilities that technology can provide to help keep women and children ‘safe@home’, and working together to tackle the scourge of gender-based violence in South Africa. The time for collective action is now,” says Mara Glennie, founder and director at TEARS Foundation.
South African developers wanting to be part of positive change to help vulnerable women and children can enter to join the hackathon here: https://safeathome.bemyapp.com/
