When it comes to tech, students at Florida Memorial University are blazing their own dynamic trail.
FMU was one of 25 HBCUs to take part in the BLACK ENTERPRISE 8th Annual BE Smart Hackathon, hosted by American Airlines in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 5.
Florida Memorial & Friends, a combined team of three FMU students, a Spelman College student, and a Norfolk State University student, won second place.
As second-place winners, each team member was awarded 75,000 AA Advantage miles for their app, AASharp.
FMU seniors, Jabulani Mzee and Rigaud Luly, and freshman Amauri Straford were evaluated on their app’s viability, practicality for end-users, and the efficiency of the technological infrastructure.
The BE Smart Hackathon is a platform for participants to engage in friendly competition and is an opportunity for them to showcase their technical skills and gain practical knowledge in utilizing emergent APIs.
During the 24-hour hack, American Airlines provided technical staff to mentor each team and guide them in preparing and delivering their presentations to the judging panel of American Airlines executives.
This year’s event brought together its largest gathering to date: 180 students to form 34 teams from 25 of the nation’s HBCUs.
First place went to Jackson State University’s team TICODE, and rounding out the top three was third-place winner, team Sky Bison from Howard University.
Congratulations to our Lions and all the HBCU participants!
