Computer coders and scientists spent Saturday building an app from scratch for the Queen City Hack competition.
It’s the second one put on by GasBuddy in Regina. Competitors are given challenges from local organizations and they have eight hours to build an app or website that would improve their services.
“We have our civic partners… The Regina Public Library, Regina Downtown Business Improvement District and Regina Warehouse District… They’ve given us problem statements and each team has picked one challenge to work on and they are creating a solution for that one specific organization,” Chelsea Grumbly, Queen City Hack Facilitator said.
“Nothing has to be perfect, you can cut a few corners… and make it work,” participant Spencer Mohr said.
Spencer Mohr and his team are tackling one of the warehouse district challenges.
“We are doing a product for walking tours, so how it’s going to work is our app, is going to give some information on where the user is and we can put out a bunch of different maps,” Mohr said.
The event also provides networking opportunities for computer coders, over 20 people attended. Many were university students or young professionals, and also in the mix is 74-year-old Gordon Li, who says the competition pulled him out of retirement.
“Whenever (there) is this kind event, I don’t feel retired, I feel excited, because this is a good time to challenge myself,” Li said.
The hope is some of the apps from the competitions will actually work, and eventually be put to good use in the city.
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