Sam Ip
Feb 15, 2022
A look at some of the winning entries at BC Hacks 2022.
Osler’s Sam Ip, a senior associate on the Technology team, reprised his role as a judge in BC Hacks 2022 on February 5 and 6. The third iteration of the 24-hour hackathon, hosted by Shreyasi Chauhan and Harman Sahota, executives of the Computer Science Course Union at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, took place virtually again this year due to the pandemic. More than 200 participants attended the event, submitting approximately 30 projects. This year’s event also included an emphasis on diversity in tech, and awarded a special prize for a project that best addressed the lack of minority representation in the technology industry.
Sam and the other judges assessed projects on three main criteria: technical competence (use and proficiency of the technologies); UI and UX; and idea, pitch and demonstration. The winning entry was a cryptocurrency project called the Zero Carbon Ecosystem, consisting of a new token that corresponds to a portion of the world’s remaining carbon budget, $ZCARB, and a decentralized payment system, Carbon Pay, running as a Google Chrome extension. The system allows users to calculate their carbon emissions and makes payment of emission fees easier, accessible and scalable, with a goal of disincentivizing unnecessary carbon emissions. Another project, Diversify, won the prize for “Best Diversity in Tech” for its job search app, which allows users to connect with tech companies directly and includes a job recommendation system based on the user’s profile, location and other parameters.
Osler was a co-sponsor of the event, along with Cisco, RBC, and other software companies and community organizations. Supporting the hackathon aligns well with Osler’s focus on encouraging innovative ideas and practices throughout our firm, including within British Columbia’s emerging and high-growth sector.
Learn more about BC Hacks 2022.