Bicom Systems 2019 Hackathon

Written By Laura Kyle

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The 2019 Bicom Systems Hackathon has successfully concluded! We hosted 40 participants at the BIT Center in Tuzla from November 1st to 3rd and carried the presentations to the Kaleidoskop cinema. This year’s topic was computer vision! The participants had to create a mobile or web application by using a camera or computer vision. Over the three days, we had an opportunity to hear really fantastic ideas and meet very talented young people. 

This year, we had three student organizations from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering from the University of Tuzla volunteer their time! They did an outstanding job and helped us complete everything on time. 

At the opening ceremony, we had some extraordinary guests not only join us, but also present. To name a few;

  • One of our three founders, Sergej Kasumović
  • The Mayor of Tuzla, Jasmin Imamović, 
  • From BIT Center, Vedrana Ajanović
  • As well as some professors from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering

At 5 p.m the fun began and the Hackathon started. This year was a little different from previous years. The teams were assigned a mentor, and they had 24 hours to develop their ideas into reality. 

We provided everything that our hackers would need to work, rest, or sleep throughout 24-hours! A ‘restroom’ was set up with lazy bags, pillows, snacks, and drinks. Thankfully, two of our generous sponsors, Redbull and Sky Cola, kept everyone caffeinated 😏

Finally, the day everyone was waiting for was here. The teams had to present what they created to our panel of judges. The judges this year were two of our founders, Senad Jordanović and Sergej Kasumović, as well as Vedrana Ajanović (from the BIT Center), Amer Hasanović and Aljo Mujčić (both professors from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering). 

Although we heard and saw incredible ideas, there could only be three winners. Each place had gracious cash prizes associated with them.  In the first place, team “Visiot” won 2.000 KM with their idea of a mobile application that converts money and helps you stay healthy. Then in second place, was team “VisionARy.” They won 1.000 KM with their sign language application! Users can use the camera to convert their signed messages into a chat. Finally, in third place was team “Makerspace TUZLA.” They won 500 KM with their idea of an application that provides recipes based on the ingredients you have available. 

Not only did the participants compete to win cash prizes, but there was also a Bicom Systems scholarship on the line. The scholarship money will be presented to the most hardworking and talented participant. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to find out who is awarded the scholarship! 

Thank you to everyone that participated and congratulations to the winners. Many thanks to the many volunteers; without your help, this would not have been possible. Finally, thank you to our amazing mentors! “A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself and helps bring it out of you.” — Bob Proctor

See you next year!

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