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Programmers in 32-hour competition developed winning web application
to aid early childhood education in Central America
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Final product to be implemented at more than 200 public schools
BROOKFIELD, Wis. & BARREAL DE HEREDIA, Costa Rica--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of financial
services technology solutions, today announced that a web-based
application created during the Fiserv 2nd Annual Programathon
will further the education of 50,190 schoolchildren in Costa Rica,
Honduras and Nicaragua.
Bringing together 130 professional and student programmers last month,
some of them still in high school, Fiserv tested their coding skills in
the grueling 32-hour, non-stop team event. The teams were challenged to
develop a fully-functioning application that would grow the cognitive
abilities of students in areas such as mathematics and logic. As a
leading provider of innovative technology solutions, Fiserv understands
that technology can help expand the power and reach of education.
Fiserv selected Fundación Quirós Tanzi and Fundación Zamora Terán,
non-profits dedicated to bridging the digital divide in the region, as
the beneficiaries of Programathon 2015. Based on parameters set by
Fundación Quirós Tanzi, Fiserv created a detailed requirements document
for the competitors to follow. The final product will be donated to 222
public schools in the region.
"Programathon generated healthy competition between the teams as they
applied their programming skills to help a very worthy cause," said
Francisco Alba, Director of Fiserv in Costa Rica. "We are proud to
provide the space and resources to create an application that benefits
early childhood education, while also providing a development and
learning experience for future programmers."
The final application took the form of a game in which children must
perform tasks such as memorizing a number of objects, transporting
animals safely across a river in the correct sequence and creating a
pre-defined shape from a selection of smaller shapes. The characters and
scenarios created for the application are all based around Costa Rican
culture and the country's natural environment.
First prize of $3,000 was awarded to the team "Get Code" (Cristian
Sánchez, Danny Mora, Esteban Piedra, Mike Salamanca and Pablo Esquivel),
with the teams "Inorganic" (Carlos Pal, Daniel Alvarez, Sebastian Ureña
and Steven McKenzie) and "Code Buster 2.0" (Carlos Girón, Jasson Moya,
José Manuel Aguilar, Julián Méndez and Kevin Hernández) finishing in
second and third and winning $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.
The marathon event was staffed by 60 Fiserv volunteers, who provided
technical and logistical support throughout. Volunteers were on hand to
ensure competitors understood the requirements of the application, while
testers reviewed and evaluated deliverables. The characters used in the
application were created in advance by Fiserv graphic designers in order
to save the participants valuable time.
Fiserv is proud to support the communities where its associates live and
work and encourages its people to volunteer in activities that align
with the company's four giving priorities: financial literacy, health
and wellness, environmental stewardship and education.
In a world that is moving faster than ever before, Fiserv helps clients
deliver solutions that are in step with the way people live and work
today — financial services at the speed of life. Learn more at TheSpeedofLife.com.
Additional Resources:
About Fundación Quirós Tanzi
Fundación Quirós Tanzi was founded in 2011 as a non-profit organization
aimed at improving the quality of life of Costa Rican children,
teachers, families and communities while providing them with better
development opportunities through the implementation of mobile
information technologies. The goal is to foster a positive
transformation of the national educational system, supported by an
innovative, efficient and highly credible organization.
About Fundación Zamora Terán
Fundación Zamora Terán is an institution that implements the "one
computer per child" educational program in Nicaragua and Honduras. In
Costa Rica, Fundación Zamora Terán operates through a strategic alliance
with Fundación Quirós Tanzi; in Guatemala with Fundación ALMO; and in
the Dominican Republic with Barrick Pueblo Viejo. The goal is to provide
access to technology for children, enhancing their education for the
benefit of them and their communities.
About Fiserv
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) enables clients to achieve best-in-class
results by driving quality and innovation in payments, processing
services, risk and compliance, customer and channel management, and
business insights and optimization. For more than 30 years, Fiserv has
been a leader in financial services technology, and today is among
FORTUNE® magazine's World's Most Admired Companies and Forbes
magazine's America's Best Employers. For more information, visit www.fiserv.com.
FISV-G
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151221005810/en/
Media Relations:
Julie Smith
Senior Public Relations
Manager
Fiserv, Inc.
+1.412-577-3341
julie.smith@fiserv.com
or
Additional
Contact:
Mark Jelfs
Public Relations Manager
Fiserv,
Inc.
+1.262.879-5930
mark.jelfs@fiserv.com
Source: Fiserv, Inc.
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