2016 Virtual Hackathon

According to the study released in 2014 by the Equality of Opportunity Project at Harvard*, Charlotte, NC was ranked 50th of 50 metropolitan areas with respect to upward economic mobility. This means that children born into lower income families in the Charlotte area have the least chance of being able to move to a higher income bracket as compared to all other metropolitan areas studied.

This summer, we are running a virtual hackathon for mobile apps and games that address this problem. Submissions should give a voice, or provide a service, to the underprivileged people of Charlotte. Entries should have the potential to qualitatively change the lives of their users for the better. Fully developed apps and games are encouraged, although prototypes will also be accepted. The deadline for the submissions is on August 1, 2016. Winners will be announced at the Summit for Social Good in Charlotte, NC on August 17-18, 2016.

The Partnership for Social Good at UNC Charlotte is part of the university’s Data Science Initiative. The DSI is seeking a data driven approach to tackle this problem. We believe a high quality mobile application or game has the potential to both positively influence the lives of its users through educational or other means and enable analysis of data that will better explain the problem and lead to more effective policies.