5 hackathons and development programs for startup founders in Central Asia and around the world

We have compiled a list of programs that will help with the development of your project in the IT sector.

The Global Gamers Challenge is an eight-week design competition sponsored by Flutter and Global Citizen. Participants need to create a game about environmental sustainability using Flutter and Dart. Participation is free.

Winners will receive a trip to New York in September 2024 to meet the Flutter team, where they will participate in workshops and mentoring.

Deadline: from January 9 to March 5
Location: online

Mentorship Program StartUp Mentoring with IT Ladies

A free program for women aimed at developing an IT startup from idea to attracting investments.

Tasks addressed within the program:

— structuring the IT startup idea

— calculation and preparation of a business plan

— creating a presentation for investors

— practicing the pitch when presenting the project to investors

— psycho-energy work to overcome blocks and limitations

— key tools for managing an IT company at the initial stage.

When: January 18

Where: Tashkent, IT Education office

Open Data Challenge Hackathon

The Open Data Challenge hackathon will take place in Tashkent. The competition aims to realize the social and economic potential of government and municipal open data, create a professional community, and develop competencies.

Technological solutions should be presented in one of the following categories:

— government sector

— social sector

— business sector

— anti-corruption

Participants will develop digital solutions using open data and submit their code on the GitHub platform. Applications are accepted both individually and in teams: up to three people per team.

When: from January 26 to 28

Registration until January 25

Yandex's "Bug Hunt" Contest

Participants will search for errors and vulnerabilities such as XSS in the company's services, which could lead to the disclosure of sensitive information.

During the contest, the reward for all types of XSS vulnerabilities has been increased several times over. It will depend on the criticality of the vulnerability, the ease of its exploitation, and its impact on the security of user and partner data. The maximum reward for a critical vulnerability will be 2,535,000 tenge.

The contest will last until January 31.

ChatGPT Challenge Hackathon

At the hackathon, participants will develop innovations based on OpenAI.

Participants can expect workshops from leading experts, prizes for winners, and the opportunity to undergo acceleration and receive investments from Accelerate Prosperity.

When: March 1-2

Where: Bishkek