Showcase your coding chops at the Waterloo Codefest, Oct. 24-25

September 29, 2015

Joy Chan

Over 100 coders have already signed up for the Waterloo Codefest. This is the first hackathon hosted by the City of Waterloo and we’re proud to partner with them on this open data initiative. Find out how you can join.

Do you want to spend a fun weekend improving your developer skills while helping the community? Build a mobile app at the Waterloo Codefest.

The City of Waterloo has just announced that it is hosting its first hackathon and Esri Canada is proud to partner with them on this open data initiative. The City recently launched their Open Data Catalogue (powered by Esri’s ArcGIS Open Data) and is calling on the community to help improve their services by developing mobile apps using the data.

Participants will have 36 hours to build a mobile app based on existing municipal datasets or suggestions from the community. A panel of judges led by Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky will select the winners and the top 3 apps will receive up to $10,000 in prizes.

Here’s how you can join:

Individuals or teams of up to 4 can participate in the codefest. Participants must be at least 18 years old. Review the complete rules & guidelines.
Register at: waterloo.ca/codefest.
Come early to the Waterloo Codefest. When: October 24 and 25, 2015 Where: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), 67 Erb St., W., Waterloo

Hot tip: Use ArcGIS to build your app

Since most open datasets are in the form of geographic data, it makes sense to use geographic information system (GIS) technology to create your mobile app.

Esri’s ArcGIS platform includes APIs, software development kits, ready-to-use content and geospatial Web services that allow you to quickly add maps and GIS functionality to your apps.

Add ‘geo’ to your app with ArcGIS. Combine open datasets and analysis with Esri's ready-to-use content and create compelling data visualizations such as this transit system accessibility app.

You can use ArcGIS to:

Develop apps using the API of your choice
Host apps on Esri’s cloud services
Deploy apps on any device
Leverage open-source Esri tools and code on GitHub
Promote and sell your apps in ArcGIS Marketplace after the codefest.

Browse our Developer Resources at esri.ca/developers and plan your app for the codefest early. Stay tuned with this blog for more ideas for your mobile apps.