Software innovation - International Business Machine (IBM), a global technology company has launched its pan-African hackathon series in Lagos, aimed at promoting local software talents as well as software innovation across Africa. To this effect, IBM organised a four-day technology training and ideas incubation programme in Lagos, codenamed 'The IBM "Lasgidi" Hackathon' in reference to the moniker (Lasgidi) used by Lagos residents to describe their city.

Targeted at young technology and computing practitioners, software developers, engineering and computer science students, the IBM Lasgidi Hackathon was attended by about 90 individuals, mostly budding software scientists and students from about 10 tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Many student participants travelled from parts of Western and Eastern Nigeria to be part of the talent and capacity building programme which will also be convened by IBM in East and Southern Africa in the months ahead. Country General Manager, IBM West Africa, Mr. Taiwo Otiti, formally declared the hackathon event open by advising participants to "get hungry for technology information and always be eager to soak in as much knowledge as they can." "I can tell you that talent has never been more important as it is today in the technology sector," Otiti said, adding, "Innovation and talent are at the core of the Information Technology revolution with the potential for positive impact on individuals, communities, countries and the world." "This 'IT Impact' has been due to the evolution of organisational behaviour and the growing role that organizations like IBM play in ensuring that many of society's challenges and problems do not go unaddressed or unresolved. Promoting talent in the field of Science & Technology has therefore become a way of life at IBM," Otiti said.

The IBM Lasgidi Hackathon will enable and encourage students to build mobile applications that run on mobile devices, compete for innovation grants, and develop new skills. The coding competition will introduce them to IBM's latest leading technology tools and frameworks to help build smarter and faster software solutions.

Hackathons are software programs or projects which seek to create a virtual environment where society's problems and solutions are simulated and incubated for future development. CONTINUES