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Indonesian students named runner-up in global hackathon

Indonesian students named runner-up in global hackathon Coding stars from three Indonesian schools competed in the finals of an international coding contest in the US. (Shutterstock/ibreakstock)
News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta   ●   Tue, July 24, 2018 2018-07-24 09:53 2102 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef61f43 4 News global-hackathon,coding,UNODC Free

A group of Indonesian students has made it to the finals of the Education for Justice (E4J) global hackathon event in Mountain View in the United States. The event was organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with Doha Declaration, Symantec and Africa Teen Geeks.

The Indonesian team, calling itself Beyond Zero, brought together students from vocational school SMK Telkom Jakarta and Jakarta-based senior state high schools SMA 78 and SMA 8. Kompas.com reported that the team competed in the finals against students from the US, Bolivia and South Africa.

The hackathon is a global programing contest, where participants were required to use their coding skills to develop educational games for mobile platforms. According to a tweet from Symantec, the young coding stars battled it out at the keyboard to develop games focusing on justice and the rule of law.

The UNODC stated on its website that the games were to educate players on global challenges like corruption, organized crime, human trafficking, firearm smuggling, terrorism and cybersecurity.

The contestants were guided by UNODC staff to meet accuracy in the final apps and Symantec mentors who helped fine-tune ideas, consider app feasibility and offer technical guidance around development and programming.

The Indonesian team reportedly chose to focus on cybercrime within the anticorruption theme and instill moral values like honesty, hard work, discipline, nationalism and a love for the environment. Meanwhile, Wakanda Vibes from South Africa, the team that eventually won the contest, created an app that informs people on how to tackle human trafficking.

Read also: Indonesian students shine at RoboCup 2018 competition in Montreal

“I am glad with what the team has achieved for Indonesian pride on the international stage,” Krishna Prasetyo, team mentor and teacher of SMK Telkom Jakarta was quoted as saying by kompas.com.

He went on to praise the spirit of his students throughout the competition and expressed hope that this success would inspire students back home in Indonesia. (saz/mut)

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