Postman and Cal Hacks Announce Hackathon to Tackle COVID-19

Postman, the leading platform for API development, has partnered with Cal Hacks, a nonprofit organization composed of students passionate about fostering a culture of hacking, to host hack:now virtual hackathon. Starting April 24, 2020, hack:now is a 36-hour, global online hackathon for students to advance innovative and technical solutions to tackle challenges caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The hackathon will commence with a keynote address by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

“Coronavirus has created an array of issues for just about everyone in the world,” stated Abhinav Asthana, CEO and co-founder at Postman. “We believe this hackathon is an opportunity for up-and-coming developers to collaborate and help solve some of our biggest current issues.”

The online hackathon is designed for the student community to work together and create solutions to trace, contain and spread awareness about COVID-19. Such an event can help connect students and empower them to make a definite social impact—no matter how big or small.

From health to communication to productivity, these three paths (or tracks) will be the focus designed for hackers to solve problems in a certain industry, build using a specific technology, or tackle issues in a field of interest without having a concrete project in mind. Each track includes mentors, starter packs, and a community of fellow hackers to support each other:

• Health: The goal is to empower health care workers on the front lines and bring support to individuals isolated at home, including: help elderly and other immunocompromised individuals, support health care workers on the front lines, and Improve the mental health of individuals isolated at home.
• Community: The goal is to bring together friends, families and neighbors as well as saving local businesses while social distancing through digital communication, including to: help students stay connected with their peers, provide basic needs for our communities, prevent the spread of misinformation, and keep local businesses afloat.
• Productivity: While now working or learning remotely is a novel experience for many, the goal is to find new ways to re-establish routines from work and school, including to: help inexperienced users transition to digital work platforms, empower parents to balance children and work at home, hold ourselves accountable for our assignments and goals, and replicate the college learning experience at home.

“This event can amplify the power of collaboration with students,” stated Nick Tran, VP Marketing at Postman. “Postman is dedicated to working with the community to find solutions for a better and safer world for all.”

Postman is also making available a set of resources via the Postman COVID-19 API Resource Center to give those on the front lines of battling the pandemic easy access to real-time critical data. Learn more at https://covid-19-apis.postman.com.

About Postman

Postman is the leading collaboration platform for API development, used by more than 10 million developers and 500,000 companies worldwide. Postman is an elegant, flexible platform that is used to build connected software via APIs—quickly, easily, and accurately. Postman is headquartered in San Francisco and has an office in Bangalore, where the company was founded. Postman is privately held, with funding from Nexus Venture Partners and CRV. Learn more at http://www.postman.com or connect with Postman on Twitter via @getpostman.

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