Project Update #5: Hackathon Day 2

October 21, 2017

Part of the: World Bank & Sexual Violence Research Initiative Project: ‘Combatting Sexual Violence in Kyrgyzstan through Innovative Education and Information Technology (Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia)’

Dr Elena Kim, Dr Elena Molchanova, Aigerim Bakubatova, and Dr Frank G. Karioris

The Neobis team worked throughout the night, getting almost no sleep whatsoever. The dedication of the students to the project is incredible. As day two began, the students continued working with Dr Kim on ensuring that the technical aspects of program met the needs of the social problem that we were hoping to address.

The different team members have been contributing their individual knowledge and skills to the particular components needed. The team has coders, programmers, designers, as well as a senior anthropology student to think through the social and cultural aspects. The integration of each of these aspects is the definition of teamwork, and truly embodies Hackathon’s ethos.

In the photo above you can see the first stages of what the program will look like. Set up in stoplight fashion, the program is designed to provide individuals with both information as well as expediting access to emergency services. The team is still finalizing what each of the buttons will do, but the concept is coming together smoothly, prioritizing user friendly design and format.

Throughout the day, the Experts and Mentors that the teams had worked with during the ‘speed-dating’ came around to each group. During this time the Mentors had the opportunity to see the progress that the teams had made, as well as to provide more in-depth feedback on the project and the direction it has taken since the ‘pitch’ on the first day.

In the above picture you can see the Mentor, who is an expert in start-ups, consulting with the team about their application that is laid out on the white board. Though the Mentor had a number of comments and suggestions, his overall impression was that the project was well thought out and was extremely useful. He told the team that he was very impressed with their progress and was very much looking forward to seeing the more finished product tomorrow.