Code Michigan, a competition to create innovative applications for citizens in the state of Michigan, infiltrated NMU’s campus Friday, Oct. 3 through Monday, Oct. 6.
The self-described “hack-a-thon” allowed competitors to design apps that benefited the local community by providing information from state databases.This type of work is known as civic coding.
There were three local events held in Newaygo, Detroit and Marquette. At each local event, prizes were given for the top three competitors. First place won $5,000, second place won $1,500 and third place won $500.
According to a university press release, a number of NMU alumni and students participated at the event held in Jamrich Hall.
In each of the top three teams, NMU students or alumni made an appearance.
The first-place team at the Marquette event included NMU alumnus Jim Argeropoulos, whose team developed a grave-site locator app.The application provides users with the opportunity to search for graves using personal computers or smartphones.
The second place team was made up of NMU alumni Andrew Berzely and Chris Burda.They created an app for anglers to track, compare and share their catches with each other while simultaneously assisting the Department of Natural Resources with population counts and fishing trends.
Ben Harris, a sophomore computer science and economics double major, competed with his friend Matt Trefilek, a junior computer science and math double major. The duo placed third with an app they designed that shows which locations in Michigan have been plowed of snow, in order to help travelers plan winter driving routes accordingly.
“After seeing how talented our competition was and how amazing all of the apps were it was very rewarding to find out that we placed in the top three,” Trefilek said.
Harris said he had similar feelings about the team’s victory in the competition.“We planned to go and try our best and we had essentially no expectations,” Harris said. “It was a pleasant surprise.”
Harris and Trefilek said their team had been formed at the last minute due to some team members being unable to make it to the event. Though they said they felt the competition was tough, they also said all of the competitors were friendly with each other during the event.
“A lot of extremely talented people from around the Upper Peninsula and NMU participated, but it was all very positive,” Trefilek said. “Everyone supported and complimented each group’s presentation.” The first place team from each local event advanced on to the final competition, where a SnowFi app won $10,000 and a 30 minute pitch for the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund.
