Web development enthusiasts will take up the challenge of the Webcup on May 29 and 30, online format, Covid obliges! This website creation hackathon is now in its 8th edition in Mauritius. It is organized by the ICT associations – OTAM, MITIA and CCIFM – through FINAM with the support of digital industry companies.
says Olivier Meyer, Vice President of FINAM and Director of Aerow Ecm World.
“We are pleased that the Webcup can be held virtually this year despite the current health conditions. The ICT resources deployed will bring our islands even closer together. We will witness a great premiere on the morning of May 29 with the opening of the Webcup online in the presence of participants, organizers, partners of the 7 territories of the Indian Ocean, all connected at the same time. We would like to thank the Webcup Reunion Association for setting up this event as well as our partners and sponsors in Mauritius. The Webcup is a highly recognized event by digital companies in Mauritius, we encourage participation in numbers.”
As a reminder, the Webcup, initiated by the Webcup Association in Reunion Island, is a competition where the candidate teams create a website in 24 hours non-stop. This fun and educational competition aims to promote talent in the design and creation of websites. The Webcup will be held in 7 territories of the Indian Ocean on the same day, at the same time, with the same subject in Madagascar, Mayotte, Reunion, the Union of Comoros, Seychelles, Rodrigues and Mauritius, next weekend. The subject of the competition, prepared in Reunion, is kept secret until the launch on Saturday morning.
This year, two team categories are open to the Mauritius Webcup: “For fun” regrouping individuals, geeks and the “Student” category. Candidates register in one of the 2 categories in teams of 4 people maximum. The composition of a candidate ‘Dream team’ is 2 developers (front end/back end or fullstack), 1 designer and 1 content writer.
This year, registration is free for all participants, thanks to the support of partners.
says Pritee Gungah-Dabeea, Development & Capability Manager of SD Worx.
“For SD Worx, it is our duty to support the emergence of digital talent. It is therefore with great pleasure that we support this effort through the Mauritius Webcup. Vocations are constantly being created in the digital sector. The Webcup represents an exceptional opportunity to develop one’s know-how by surpassing oneself technically under time constraints. It is also an opportunity to demonstrate one’s project management skills through collaborative tools for teamwork and to overcome the challenges of remote work. This competition allows participants to experience a real professional situation that we are currently experiencing. Congratulations to all those who took up this challenge. Have a great Webcup!”
Indeed, as in the previous edition, the evaluation criteria concern :
⦁ The presentation of the team and its site on its roadmap
⦁ The content of the site created
⦁ Navigation and Ergonomics
⦁ Design, graphics
⦁ Technical aspects
The candidates are very motivated to take part in this online edition as Chandesh Lillmond, captain of the ‘UTM Data Pirates’ team, testifies:
“The fact that we have participated in other competitions encourages us to take part in the Webcup, we are more comfortable in web development where we have good results. We also like to work in teams and hackathons allow us to better know our strengths and weaknesses and therefore to improve our skills more quickly in a fun atmosphere.”
On the University side, Ravi Foogooa, Lecturer in the Department of Business Informatics and Software Engineering at UTM, agrees, “This year’s batch are highly motivated and inclined to look beyond the university to the professional world to complement their knowledge and hone their skills.”
Even in virtual mode, the Webcup requires a significant technological deployment in order to ensure that it runs smoothly.
The enthusiasm of companies in the sector to participate in the growth of the ecosystem can be felt, as Dev Hurkoo, Managing Director of Rogers Capital, points out:
“It is with spontaneity that my teams have responded positively to the call of the organization of the Webcup Mauritius to support the technical logistics of this online hackathon. Our company Rogers Capital, the fintech branch of the Rogers Group, which is present in the Indian Ocean and internationally, is delighted to be able to contribute to the digital development and innovation of our Indian Oceanic islands by joining this key event in our sector. We encourage as many young talents as possible to participate and wish them a great Webcup.”
The organizers warmly thank its partners Rogers Capital, SD Worx, Accenture Technology, and its sponsors, Bocasay, Aerow ECM World, Elytis, Le Wagon, Zenedia, Brand Lab, who support the Webcup Mauritius.
