In an exciting turn of events, an outstanding team of students from Barcelona Activa and 42Barcelona’s IT Academy programming schools have reached the finals of the prestigious NASA International Space Apps Challenge, a worldwide hackathon organized by NASA.
Among the finalist teams is an exceptional group from Barcelona: Galactic Space Coders, composed of three women and three men, with five of its members coming from IT Academy and one from 42Barcelona.
His project, focused on preserving the oceans in the future, has captured the attention of the judges and will go head-to-head with other projects from around the world in the final phase of the competition.
This success is not a surprise considering the effective collaboration between IT Academy and 42Barcelona. The IT Academy focuses on meeting the ICT talent needs of local companies, providing training for future web programmers and Big Data specialists.
On the other hand, 42Barcelona, a programming campus located in the Barcelona Activa Technology Park, has followed a fruitful line of collaboration with IT Academy, excelling in specialized technological training, including areas such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
It is estimated that the combined contribution of 42Barcelona and IT Academy represents 11% of the digital talent that companies in Barcelona need annually, making them indisputable references for those companies in search of digital talent.
The relevance of the NASA International Space Apps Challenge
The fundamental mission of this global challenge is not only to drive growth in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) disciplines in the next generation, but also to foster diversity in these fields.
This event has established itself as one of the most important in the international field of programming and technology, thanks to the open exchange of knowledge and data among participants from all over the world.
Supported by nine space agencies, engineering institutions and the U.S. Embassy, the NASA International Space Apps Challenge represents a unique opportunity for creative minds to solve significant challenges.
It brings together teams from various cities around the world to address real Earth and space-related problems using free and open data provided by NASA.
The challenge and creativity in the Hackathon
During the hackathon, participating teams engaged in the creation of mobile applications, software, hardware, data visualizations and platform solutions. Each challenge, designed directly by NASA, was intended to contribute to space exploration missions and improve the quality of life on Earth.
With a total of 40 teams selected as finalists, from which 10 winning teams will be chosen in January 2024, competition is fierce and only the most innovative and viable projects will receive the ultimate recognition.
