Kaloyan Georgiev, coordinator of the student hackathon HackTUES, and Zlatina Lilova, part of the HackTUES student hackathon team, on "Business Start", 08.03.2022. From March 10 to 13, the eighth edition of the student hackathon HackTUES will take place, organized by students at the "Electronic Systems" Technological School (TES) in Sofia, part of the Technical University of Sofia. 250 students in 50 teams will participate in the hackathon. The theme of the event will be announced at its opening on March 10 at 18:30 on the YouTube channel of TUS. This was revealed by Kaloyan Georgiev, coordinator of the student hackathon HackTUES, and Zlatina Lilova, part of the team of the student hackathon HackTUES, in the show "Business Start" hosted by Zhivka Popatanasova. Participants will be able to consult with lecturers who will provide guidance after the theme is announced. On Friday and Saturday, teams will work with mentors on their projects. On Sunday morning, the semifinals of the event begin. The evaluation is divided into two stages – semifinals and finals. From five semifinals, five teams will advance to the finals, and the top three will win cash scholarships. Each sponsor will also provide a prize, which will be a surprise. Teamwork is one of the things that hinders participants the most, as there is no time in two days to get to know the other team members or to agree on who does what. Participants are students from grades 11 and 12 who have already learned a lot and want to show what they are capable of in front of the many companies supporting the event. Students from grades 8 and 9 also participate in the competition, and the goal is for them to learn new skills, the interviewees shared. Preparation for the hackathon began as early as August, and we had many sleepless nights due to the organization. Over 20 companies from the IT industry support the event and provide mentors who share invaluable experience. Each team has an individual mentor who provides assistance and support. Our team at the school consists of 13 people, and our wish is for the participants in the competition to be creative and to step out of their comfort zone. Brilliant projects have been presented at previous hackathons, Zlatina and Kaloyan, who study at TUS, recounted. The two are grateful for the opportunities the school offers them, and a solid part of the students are already IT professionals upon graduation. "The Bulgarian IT industry is one of those in Europe with the highest presence of women, almost 50%. For comparison, in countries like France and Germany, women in this sector are only 20%", emphasized Zlatina. Zlatina and Kaloyan shared that their plans for the future are connected to Bulgaria. Even if their education continues abroad, it does not mean that they will not return and work in Bulgaria afterwards.
Watch the show here
Vbloombergtv.bg, 08.03.2022
Investor.bg, 08.03.2022
