Aussie teams make the finals of Call for Code 2020

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Author: Rahul Soans, Developer Marketing Manager, IBM Australia

When the finalists of the 2020 Call for Code were announced, I was thrilled to see two Aussie teams make the cut. A journey that kicked-off in February is now reaching its zenith. IBM’s tech for good initiative Call for Code (in partnership with David Clarke Cause and Charitable Partner United Nations Human Rights) concludes on October 13 with the 2020 Call For Code Awards, which promises to be a global celebration of tech for good. 

More than 400,000 developers from across the globe submitted solutions that took on the challenges of Climate Change and COVID-19. After a rigorous judging process, we are now down to our final teams – top five for the Global Challenge and top five for the University Edition.

Recharged hope to increase electric vehicles

Recharged, from the University of Sydney, have built a platform that connects driver’s electric vehicles with household owners of charging stations. The app allows owners of pre-existing charging stations to rent out their asset. This expands the available charging stations and supports an expanded uptake of electric vehicles. The team hopes to launch the app in Australia first and then later the world.

Find out more about the University Edition finalists here.

Business Buddy helps small business

The Business Buddy team was selected as one of the top five finalists in the Global Challenge, with a solution that provides personalised support for struggling small businesses, a sector that has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19.

Due to ineffective communication channels, business owners are not able to take advantage of the full breadth of support that is currently available to them from governments and other entities. Business Buddy, through their app, allows businesses to access and gauge their specific eligibility in various government grants.

Find out more about their solution here.

The challenges ahead

The world is facing enormous challenges right now with both Climate Change and COVID-19. The Call for Code competition asks developers (and non-developers) to think about these issues and use their skills to help communities most in need.

We are thrilled to bits that two Australian teams have made the finals, but also congratulate everyone who answered the call. A special mention goes out to the A/NZ developer advocacy team for their diligent efforts in hosting local CfC hackathons and stewarding the winning teams to the global competition.

Though the competition has concluded for 2020. You can still contribute your skills to a variety of Call for Code open source projects and through your contributions, you could be recognised as a Community Champion. 

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