Stockport Council continues to innovate digitally by announcing the exciting new Stockport Hackathon which aims to help people in Stockport connect with their wider community.

The Council is inviting professional, amateur and student participants to the Hackathon which will take place on March 4th 2017. The event is open to anyone who is enthusiastic and creative, not just those with digital skills, but participants do need to be over 16.

Local businesses are also sought to offer prizes, goodie bags, food and drink for the participants, or volunteers for the judges’ panel and developers to take part in the Hack.

The focus of the Hackathon will be connecting Stockport residents with their wider community, for example, by helping people to discover activities, events, organisations, and community groups that interest them. The twelve hour time limit is a great motivator to bring out creativity and by the end of the day teams will aim for bright new ideas with well thought out plans or even new apps to help make people aware of services or events in the area.

Councillor David Sedgwick, Executive Member for Reform and Governance at Stockport Council said: “By engaging with our vibrant digital community we hope to draw on the enormous resource of skill and creativity that exists and harness innovative new ideas for the good of the wider Stockport Community. This is a great opportunity for participants to learn something new, enjoy making things with like-minded people and use their skills to enrich the lives of others and improve the place they live in.”

The Hack will take place from 8am to 8pm and all participants will be given the opportunity to present their ideas in front of their peers and a panel of judges. This will be followed by a Winners Presentation with prizes for the best ideas. Food and drink will be provided but participants need to bring their own technical equipment.

This is a fun and unconventional learning opportunity for students and amateurs which will look good on their CVs. For local business professionals it’s a chance to give back to the community as well as providing recruitment opportunities.

Find out more at www.digitalstockport.info/hackathon.