SIUE Computer Science Student Wins First Place at GlobalHack VI
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Engineering’s Jacob Baird, a senior computer science major from Caseyville, was part of the first place team of the collegiate division at GlobalHack VI held October 21-23 in St. Louis.
The competition charged teams with building software solutions to help agencies, like the St. Patrick Center, better combat homelessness. They were challenged to help service providers do more with less.
Baird and his partners won $100,000 for their winning approach, which was a phone-based, web-based and kiosk-based application aimed at assisting homeless people in finding shelters.
“I’ve been to lots of Hackathons before and try to go to all I can,” said Baird. “My courses at SIUE have taught me the basics of web design, and I’ve learned many other skills through participating in Hackathons. I would like to be a backend software developer after graduating in May.”
GlobalHack VI competitors included software developers, graphic designers, technologists, and entrepreneurs from around the world. Along with collegiate, the event included youth and pro divisions.
