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UNIHACK IS BACK ON AUGUST 15

Announcement posted by Wired Monash 15 Jun 2015

Winning student team will get $3000 in cash!
MELBOURNE, Australia — UNIHACK, Melbourne’s premier student hackathon, is coming back this August! Registrations are now open and for the very first time, all university and TAFE students from across Australia are invited to compete for the title of UNIHACK Champion for 2015.

UNIHACK 2015, sponsored by PwC, will begin on Saturday August 15 from 12pm at the Inspire9 co-working space in Richmond. Teams will have 24 hours to produce a working prototype of their idea - which can be anything, from a website, mobile app, game or even hardware product. The most important thing is that it works in front of the judging panel - comprising some of the best developers and designers in the Australian IT industry.

The winning team will be crowned UNIHACK Champion for this year and will receive $3000 in cash - double what last year’s winning team received. We will offer teams that placed second and third will get $1000 and $500 respectively. 

The full list of prizes that will be awarded out at the event will be announced closer to the date of the event.

Whether you are an avid programmer or a first-timer, UNIHACK welcomes all types of “hackers” regardless of skill level. You will have the opportunity to build, collaborate and learn from your fellow hackers and mentors at the event. The event will also have a number of tech talks throughout the event to help participants to learn new or extend their existing skills.

The event is being organised by WIRED Monash, the IT student society at Monash University Clayton.

Supporting Australian Innovation

UNIHACK is proud to announce that PwC, one of Australia’s leading professional service firms, has signed on to become this year’s Platinum sponsor.

Stef Drinkwater, National Campus Manager at PwC, said:

“PwC is proud to be partnering with UNIHACK this year as we passionate about supporting and mentoring talented IT students from around Australia. We are committed to helping IT students find diverse and rewarding careers.”

Other sponsors for this year’s include Freelancer.com, the Commonwealth Bank, the Australian Computer Society, DiUS, IMC Financial, Deloitte, EY, Readify, DigitalOcean, Namecheap, Mashery and Angelcube. 

In addition, both the University of Melbourne’s Department of Computing and Information Systems and the Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology are supporting UNIHACK.

Students’ Creativity On Display

Inspired by the student hackathons that are all over America and the UK, UNIHACK was created last year by two university students from Melbourne’s two largest universities - Terence Huynh from Monash University and Matthew Rossi from the University of Melbourne. 

The main purpose of UNIHACK is to showcase the best talent in our universities today - who will be the next generation of developers, thinkers and entrepreneurs.

Terence Huynh, creator and co-organiser of UNIHACK, said:

“We started UNIHACK because we want Australia to become a leader in digital innovation, thinking of ways to improve our lives and possibly disrupt the industries of today with some interesting and creative ideas.”

“I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of ideas that came out of last year’s event - like an app where you can hide messages in real locations on your phone, or a website that gave you locations to change your current mood.”

“I cannot wait to see what this year’s competitors come up with.”

Matthew Rossi, creator and co-organiser of UNIHACK, said:

“The level of interest in hackathons is increasing exponentially, and it’s not hard to see why. Events such as UNIHACK provide the perfect platform for people involved in ICT to apply technological solutions in new and creative ways, while also acting as an important vehicle to foster collaboration between students and the wider community.”

“I strongly believe in the need to engage and support traditionally underrepresented groups in ICT. As such, we place a great emphasis on collaborating with community organisations that support women and LGBT students, for example.”

Registration for UNIHACK with tickets available for $15 through our website (http://unihack.net). The ticket price includes entry, food for the weekend, a free shirt and other goodies. You must be a current university or TAFE student to be eligible to participate.

Note to Media

Team Presentations will begin at 3pm Sunday August 16. Members of the public and the media are invited to come and watch the presentations. Free tickets will be made available closer to the date. Any person from the media who wish to watch should contact team@unihack.net.

About WIRED Monash

WIRED Monash is the Monash University Clayton club for those who are studying or are interested IT. We aim to provide a relaxed, social atmosphere where students can meet others who share their curiosity for everything digital. Our community is one where we can share our opinions on the latest technology and collaborate on projects and competitions with fellow students. We also provide members with opportunities to connect with the IT industry through talks and networking opportunities.

For more information about WIRED Monash, visit http://wired.org.au/