Barchart, a Chicago-based provider of financial market data and technology has announced University Exchange, a full-day Fintech Hackathon event. The inaugural event is open to graduate and undergraduate students at Illinois Institute of Technology.
According to Barchart, University Exchange will feature teams of 3-4 students, who will be challenged to develop an automated news publishing solution using Barchart’s financial content and Barchart OnDemand APIs. The solutions will be judged by a group of industry professionals who will award cash prizes to the top three teams. Winning teams will also receive a featured spot at FinTech Exchange 2018, which takes place on April 25th. Mark Haraburda, CEO of Barchart, stated:
“We have been very active in the local fintech scene in Chicago through our annual FinTech Exchange event and we have wanted to continue to expand the event. Connecting with universities and students is a natural extension to another community that is producing the next generation of developers, quants and analysts. We are excited to partner with Illinois Tech and FinTank to host University Exchange. In addition, sponsoring businesses will have the chance to meet new talent and see their skills up close.”
BJ Engelhardt, Director of Operations for Illinois Tech Career Services, also commented:
“Employers in technology fields are looking more and more for the melding of strong technical skills, critical analysis and creative, innovative thinking in their potential hires. Illinois Tech is providing this type of education to students to prepare them for the future economy, and opportunities to co-develop hackathons with companies like Barchart both supplements their educational experience and gives them much needed career and professional development.”
University Exchange will take place on October 27th at FinTank. George Vukotich, Managing Partner at FinTank then added:
“With FinTank being Chicago’s first fintech incubator, we continually look for collaborative opportunities so we are excited to work with Barchart and Illinois Tech for this event. Working with a great school like Illinois Tech is crucial in building a pipeline for university students to find a way to make a smooth transition into the job market. Barchart has a great set of resources to give students the data and tools they will need to know how to use in the marketplace to succeed.”