ITA Announces Winners of Spring Tech Challenge Events

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - April 18, 2017) - Today the Illinois Technology Association (ITA) awarded cash prizes and scholarships to eight students across two Tech Challenge programming skills competitions. The competitions were held the first two weeks of April in conjunction with Information Technology Month. Tech Challenge is a programming and coding skills competition focused on developing and driving tech talent to Chicago.

The ITA Teaser Tech Challenge, presented by Bosch, provided university students the opportunity to compete for cash prizes. The exam was administered virtually and gave participants a preview of the larger Tech Challenge program administered each fall by ITA, which draws nearly 800 students.

"Although we are making progress through programs like the Tech Challenge, the war for tech talent continues to rage," said Julia Kanouse, CEO, ITA. "Expanding our collegiate-level Tech Challenge program to provide students with more chances to practice their skills while simultaneously exposing them to the tech scene in Chicago is a win for both the students and our members."

Nearly 300 students took the exam this April. Congratulations to the 2017 Teaser Tech Challenge winners:

1. Animesh, Georgia Institute of Technology
2. Goutham, The University of Chicago
3. Akashdeep, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Concurrently, to the collegiate-level program, ITA launched a high school tech challenge to engage and expose local high school students to programming, as a career choice. In a limited release of the program, 40 students participated. Congratulations to the 2017 High School Tech Challenge winners:

4. Nikhil, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
5. Akhil, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
6. Edward, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
7. Harvey, Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center
8. John, St. Ignatius College Prep

"The goal of our high school program was to create a new way for young people to gain insight and exposure to the world of programming. Because of the opportunities that a STEM education creates and the success of our university program, we felt the time was right to expand to the high school level," said Trisha Degg, director of talent programs, ITA. "We are excited to see our high school level program continue to grow and expand."

Thank you to kCura for providing the prizes for the winners.

Participating universities included:

1. Blackburn College
2. Carnegie Mellon University
3. DePaul University
4. Dev Bootcamp
5. Dominican University
6. Georgia Institute of Technology
7. Illinois Institute of Technology
8. Illinois State University
9. Indiana University Bloomington
10. Loyola University Chicago
11. Milwaukee School of Engineering
12. Missouri University of Science & Technology
13. National Institute of Technology
14. North Central College
15. Northern Illinois University
16. Northwestern University
17. Purdue University
18. Rose Hulman Institute of Technology
19. Saint Louis University
20. St. Ambrose University
21. SUNY Polytechnic Institute
22. The University of Chicago
23. The University of Illinois at Chicago
24. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
25. University of Iowa
26. University of Pennsylvania
27. Washington University in St. Louis

Participating High Schools included:

1. Jones College Prep
2. Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center
3. Lake View High School
4. Lane Technical College Prep High School
5. Northside College Preparatory High School
6. Oak Forest High School
7. Palatine High School
8. Poolesville High School
9. St. Ignatius College Prep
10. Theodore Roosevelt High School
11. Von Steuben Metropolitan High School
12. William Fremd High School
13. Whitney M. Young Magnet High School

About the Illinois Technology Association

The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) scales Illinois tech companies. With innovative resources that connect members to the local tech ecosystem, build their talent networks and create visibility for their brands, ITA is growing the local tech community. Founded in 2005 and supporting 500+ growth and late stage tech companies, ITA has a rich history of driving business forward. For more information, visit illinoistech.org, follow @ITAbuzz on Twitter or find us on LinkedIn.