Microsoft Bahrain organized a 3-day Hack-A-Thon for the ICT students of Polytechnic Bahrain. Microsoft and Polytechnic Hack-A-Thon comes as part of both parties’ commitment to provide the work ready graduates with the latest updates on technology, know-how and skills needed to thrive in their career.
The 72 hour competition gave the students the opportunity to get hands-on training and support on developing applications using Windows 8 and Windows Phone platforms, submit their innovations to the Microsoft App store within the 3 days and compete to win the 3-day marathon. The workshop was attended by Microsoft’s developer experts and trainers to teach the participants what it takes to build great applications for the Windows ecosystem and answer their questions.
“Microsoft is committed to empowering students with the tools and resources they need to showcase their creativity and excel as entrepreneurs with app development,” Tareq Hijazi, General Manager for Microsoft Bahrain and Oman, said.
“With more than 30 participants, Hack-A-Thon Bahrain 2013 aims to excite the students and young developers’ community to be innovative and creative and bring a wealth of new, exciting and quality apps to the Windows Store for consumers to enjoy.”
He thanked the administration of Polytechnic Bahrain for opening up their doors, engaging their students and hosting the event.
“Microsoft is a renowned company and we’re delighted that they were able to share their experience with the students. Developing applications remains an important part of today’s fast paced technology world, as a vast majority own smartphones. We thank Microsoft for being here for the three day event, as they help us get closer to meeting the goals of Bahrain’s Vision 2030,” Dr. Mohamed Al-Aseeri, Acting CEO of Bahrain Polytechnic said.
“The Curriculum at Bahrain Polytechnic is designed to produce graduates who are ready to take their place as active citizens. The faculty of BICT actively work to help students transfer their knowledge and skills to any development environment. Our students enjoyed this experience; Microsoft development kit enables the students to focus on developing practical ideas. We are planning to host similar events in the near future,” Raghda Zahran, ICT Programme Manager (Management Information Systems Major), said.
Microsoft provided students free software to create apps, such as Visual Studio 2013 and Blend 2013 for Windows 8 and free Windows Store registration codes through Microsoft DreamSpark – a program that supports technical education by providing access to Microsoft software for learning, teaching and research purposes.