Entrepreneurs

A Codeathon (or Hackathon) is an event for coders and all types of professionals to work collaboratively on software development. Simple as that! The results usually end up being websites, apps, or robotics that fit a specific need.

The Veteran’s Codeathon is an open data event that challenges coders, designers, and tech experts in the area to build something extraordinary to improve the quality of life for our active duty military members, veterans, and their spouses in San Antonio.

All coders, designers, and tech experts, both veterans and non-veterans alike. Participants from outside the San Antonio community are encouraged to participate as well.

All are welcome to participate no matter the affiliation!

Register here. 

Registration is open now

1. 1. RED CHALLENGE – There are a ton of organizations that assist our ever-growing military population in San Antonio but it is a challenge keeping up with all of the amazing things they offer. We want to assist in bridging that gap and having more people take advantage of the great things these organizations offer. Create a solution that connects the Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) to active duty military members, veterans, and their spouses.
   2. WHITE CHALLENGE – The only way to end veteran homelessness is to get the population of homeless veterans the help they need. Being able to connect those in need with the VSOs who have resources to help is a top priority. Create a solution that helps provide VSOs access to the homeless veteran population. 
   3. BLUE CHALLENGE – San Antonio is a hub for the military and veteran communities but making them aware of the great things our city offers is a challenge. We have recognized this disconnect and hope to identify and create solutions to bridge this gap. Create a solution to assist active duty military members, veterans, and their family members to get connected to local resources when relocating to San Antonio.
   4. STARS CHALLENGE –  San Antonio has a wide variety of local veteran-owned companies and businesses, and we hope to create a one-stop-shop that raises awareness of these companies and increases involvement from the greater San Antonio area. Create a solution to help drive awareness of local veteran-owned organizations/businesses. 
   5. STRIPES CHALLENGE –  San Antonio is known as Military City USA, but the military events that happen here are often overlooked or not known about. We hope to develop a solution that will raise better awareness and increase the participation of the San Antonio community in these events. Develop a solution to create awareness of Military/Veteran events throughout the city and drive engagement from the greater San Antonio community.

Thanks to our amazing sponsors, we are able to provide the following cash prizes to the winning teams:

1. 1. 1st place: $1,500
   2. 2nd place: $750
   3. 3rd place: $500

1. 1. 10% – User experience
   2. 30% – Innovation
   3. 30% – Impact
   4. 30% – Sharing resources and collaboration

This year’s community challenges and data are brought to you by the City of San Antonio and TXServes.

The opportunity to win prize money for your innovation/idea, fun times with your team. Knowing you contributed towards helping active duty military members, veterans, and their spouses.

We are excited to partner with TXServes – San Antonio, which is a part of the AmericaServes network that strives to help service members, veterans and their families around San Antonio, TX. Your donated money will be included in this donation!

No, you must be on a team of at least 2 members

Absolutely! Please email codeathon@geekdom.com

No. You must be 18 or older to participate for liability purposes.

Winners will be announced on the last day of the event – Sunday, November 10th, at 1:30 pm. We’re excited to see the final products.

Any applicable intellectual property rights to a submission will remain with the contestant. By participating in the codeathon, the contestant is not granting any rights in any patents, pending patent applications, or copyrights related to the technology described in the submission.

Yes, at the bottom of the main landing page please click the pop-up titled “schedule”

Food, shirts, mentors, prizes and an awesome weekend.

Geekdom: 110 E Houston St, San Antonio, TX 78205

Parking meters are free after 5pm on Friday and are free on weekends.

Here is a link for various other parking options. 

The 2019 SmartSA Datathon Competition is open to any developer, designer, idea person, or anyone in between who want to submit a proposal for consideration*. Selected finalists will be eligible to compete in the competition June 28-30th, 2019.

*The City of San Antonio, CPS Energy, SAWS, SARA, and VIA employees are not eligible to participate in this event.

No. Registration is free, but you must submit your team member info and proposal by June 3, 2019 to be eligible.

Yes! Attendees must register as a team, each composed of at least two and at most six people.

No. Participants must form and register their team by June 3, 2019. Finalists will be chosen for the June 28-30th, 2019 SmartSA Datathon Competition via a selection committee, and will be notified by email by June 14, 2019.

Participants and their teams must be registered by June 3, 2019.

Participants must be at least 18 years of age at the time of the event.

Datathon teams can work on any type of data tool (web apps, mobile apps, dashboards data visualizations, algorithms, or visual mock-ups, for example) that will help the SmartSA partners achieve their goals  Please see the judging criteria for more guidance on what the SmartSA partners are looking for.

Public data sets and developer resources are posted to www.civtech-sa.com/datathon/. The datasets will continue to be available throughout the SmartSA Datathon Competition on June 28-30, 2019.

Here is an overview of how the projects will be judged:

Challenge Areas

How many challenge areas were addressed in your idea out of the Affordability, Environmental Quality, and Access to Services categories?

Ease of Implementation

How feasible/easy would it be for the SmartSA partners to implement or use your ideas within their organizations? Is the idea, application, dashboard, model, etc. multidimensional that could grow or shift with changing community and SmartSA partner needs?

Most Compelling Application/Dashboard

Is the dashboard visually compelling, easy to understand/use, and or engaging?

Would potential users would want to interact with the product?

Most Insightful

What insightful or compelling information can be learned and or used by a SmartSA partner(s) within a specific challenge area? How impactful, critical, or useful could it be?

Community Value

Is this project something that is open to the public and or community? Is the value or importance of the idea clear and evident? What is the longevity of the idea or project?

Yes! Food and drinks will be provided for participants during the SmartSA Datathon Competition.

No. However, teams are encouraged to use the collaborative spaces available at Geekdom for the ideation and development events throughout the 2019 SmartSA Datathon Competition.

Yes! Teams have the chance of being awarded $3,000 in 3 separate categories, plus a $1,500 crowd favorite award. The three categories will be most insightful, most solvable, and most compelling. Don’t forget to invite your friends and family to the final event because the crowd’s favorite will also take home the $1,500 award.

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