WebGeek Philippines steps up to organize its first-ever hackathon

• Philippines ripe for hackathon events, so community steps up to the plate
• WebGeek Philippines aims to create a thriving community of like-minded tech devotees

WebGeek Philippines, a community of developers, designers and all-round geeks, will be hosting its first-ever major hackathon on Aug 25 to find the most creative and skillful web application.
 
The WebGeek DevCup will run from 11am to 11pm at the Meralco Multi Purpose Hall in Ortigas Center, and will see prizes running from trophies to swag from a host of sponsors, and will be, as the organizers put it, “a great opportunity for all web and software development enthusiasts to put forth their best ideas, feel challenged, get recognized, and have the most fun in a day!”
 
WebGeek Philippines is a community founded by webgeeks for webgeeks, but this is its first major hackathon, says its founder John Arce (pic).
 
“We are pretty excited about how will it turn out and we're hoping to make this a regular event in the future,” he tells Digital News Asia (DNA) via email, adding that they hope to see about 200 participants and 30-50 teams.
 
“We feel that someone should start doing major hackathons in the Philippines, but rather than waiting for someone else to do it, we decided to do it ourselves. As an organization that fosters collaboration among tech professionals, we are in a good position to start this because it is in line with our goals and vision,” he adds.
 
Arce founded WebGeek Philippines in May 2009 as a community for Filipino tech enthusiasts to network and collaborate. The community-driven initiative has organized and hosted several major events over the past three years as part of its efforts to create a thriving community of like-minded tech devotees.
 
It also promotes Philippine tech events and local startups, and at the same time, organizes webgeek events and meetups for the community, Arce says.
 
For the hackathon, participants will form teams and given six hours to develop a web app on a theme – to be given on the day itself to prevent advanced preparations, he says.
 
If the web app is not finished by the allotted time, the team should be able to explain how they would implement the technology for the unfinished parts, and how they intend to implement it technologically. Incomplete parts or projects may be represented by wire-frames or other plan documents.
 
Arce says WebGeek Philippines is not looking for any particular kind of application for the DevCup hackathon as long it fits the theme. “However, given the theme we have in mind, we're hoping to see some pretty exciting stuff at the end of the event.”
 
The web apps will be evaluated according to software development quality, user interface and experience, innovation, ambition and the quality of the team’s pitch. Teams will have a maximum of three minutes to demonstrate their running application to the judging panel and two minutes to answer judges’ questions.
 
DNA is amongst the official media for the WebGeek DevCup.