25 Feb Software Development Students come 2nd at Start up Weekend
Some of our top students at Techtorium were fortunate enough to take part in the 2019 Techstars Start-up Weekend. GridAKL played host as the event took place between 22nd and 24th November. The annual event is set up to foster and develop entrepreneurial endeavours, in some cases providing the push people need to get their idea off the ground. The weekend is run as a competition in order to simulate the intense environment and energy of a new startup, but in a friendlier setting built around teamwork, mentoring and networking.
Pitches and ideas were presented on Friday night. From here teams formed, the best pitches were chosen and plans laid down. Saturday and Sunday were when the foundations set on Friday are built up into working models, culminating in presentations which were delivered at the end of the event. Although it was an intense weekend with long hours, the event organisers kept the teams well fed and caffeinated to enable them to develop some highly promising projects. Many teams continue working on their projects after the weekend and develop them into commercial products.
We had four of our Software Development students in attendance at the event, Dominic Burnett, Dallas Harvey, Matvey Lavrinovich and Michael Bryant. As young developers of the future, they all agreed that they learnt a lot over the weekend and would recommend it to other students looking to gain practical experience. Matvey said that it helped to give them an understanding of the business case that is required for building apps and the need for economic validation.
The help of Start-up weekend mentors was also a highlight – all of whom were able to be intensely involved in the projects and provide expert guidance where teams were stuck. The event also attracts people at all levels of their careers, senior software developers, entrepreneurs, marketing and business professionals. Michael said that they were able to network in this environment with ease, as the environment and people were all friendly and willing to engage.