Hacktivate Heist showcases elite software development skills

Auckland, 16 April 2013 – Held on Saturday 13 April, Hacktivate Heist sponsored by Orion Health, brought together hackers and designers from the IT industry, local universities and the wider creative community in a celebration of hacker culture.

Robbing the moneymen was the game, three knockout rounds, and seven other teams stood between the winning team and the loot. The challenges were designed to push hackers to their limits in a high-pressure environment that put both design and development skills to the test. In front of a live audience of 200, hackers showcased cryptography, data mining, scripting and artificial intelligence. Designers acted as the link between hackers and onlookers, creating beautiful visuals for the audience to experience real time.

It was Industry team – Team Black that walked away with cash, glory, and their name on the Hacktivate Hall of Fame on the night.

The top student team, were offered job contracts on the spot by sponsor Orion Health’s CEO Ian McCrae. Mr McCrae commented on the night "There are an increasing number of IT jobs available in New Zealand, the thing is, we need more talented people to fill them!" he continued, “Hacktivate is a fantastic event that brings together elite student and industry developers.”

To top it all off there was a live blues band, visualisations, audience competitions, live commentary and an entertaining tale to supplement the challenges.

“This is entirely a New Zealand based initiative, and has potential to be scaled around the world to place us as a country that attracts talent and embraces ICT” says Hacktivate Co-founder Shane O’Connell.

Hacktivate is a New Zealand based tech event collaborative, dedicated to changing the perception of the ICT industry in order to advance the professions, and bring more students into software engineering, computer science, and related disciplines. Hacktivate creates high stakes competitive hackathons that challenge programmers and designers, recognising their talents and educating the wider community about the inner workings of the industry.

ENDS