From Germanna Community College
A team of Germanna Community College students placed second Sunday in a competition to create a mobile app for the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. The competition was part of Northern Virginia Community College’s third annual national Innovation Hackathon. A team from George Mason University took first place.
GCC student Michael Davis won a $1,000 scholarship for his work at the event and Germanna students were asked to further develop their app project into a working app for AFCEA.
“Real world jobs and compensation,” said Diana Merkel, an associate professor who is Information Systems Technology Department Head at GCC, said about interest that was generated in the Germanna students during the competition. “In fact, they were approached by a second contractor that wants them to develop apps for other companies as well,” she added.
The annual Innovation Hackathon, a 36-hour-long competition, offers hands-on experience to students interested in cybersecurity and secure coding methods. Participants come prepared for the weekend with sleeping bags and overnight items, ready to work in teams to “hack” several challenges provided by corporate sponsors.
