MEDIA ADVISORY - Canadian Open Data Experience Champions To Be Crowned March 26th

Winners of the national CODE 2015 hackathon competition to be announced at Grand Finale event

TORONTO, March 20, 2015 /CNW/ - On March 26^th, XMG Studio Inc. and the Government of Canada will host the Canadian Data Open Experience (CODE) Grand Finale and announce the winners of $40,000 in prizes.

The CODE 2015 national coding competition saw a record-breaking 1,303 participants take part in a 48 hour marathon code session held February 20-22^nd. Representatives of a number of the Top 15 teams will attend the Grand Finale event.

The Grand Finale will showcase an overview of the CODE 2015 competition and ultimately reveal the judges' decisions in each prize category: The Grand Prize, Category Prizes, and Student Prize – as well as the fans' choice from the Fan Favourite Prize. In attendance will be the Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board and official facilitator of CODE, and Ray Sharma, Founder XMG Studios.

Event: The CANADIAN OPEN DATA EXPERIENCE 2015 GRAND FINALE
Date:  March 26^th, 2015
Location: The Burroughes Building, 639 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V 2B7
Time: Registration opens 6:00 pm with the official part of the evening starting at 7:00 pm

B-roll of the Code Pitch Day presentations is available for download starting at 12:00pm March 24^th, 2015. Please visit: www.canadianopendataexperience.ca/PitchDay

CODE 2015 would not be possible without the support of sponsors and like-minded organizations: the Government of Canada, IBM, Cognition LLP, Communitech, Digital Ocean, MaRS Discovery District and Namecheap, as well as the CODE VIP HUB Location Sponsors BCTIA, Notman House, and OneEleven.

Background:

CODE 2015: CODE 2015 was a tremendous success, with 1303 participants (a new record for Canada) and a total of 125 apps developed using federal open data sets available through Canada's Open Data portal open.canada.ca and by "mashing-up" data from all levels of government.

This year, participants competed across three categories: Youth, Commerce and Quality of Life. The Top 15 teams pitched their ideas on March 16^th, 2015 during the CODE Pitch Day event, in front of a live panel of industry experts. Judges evaluated each application by its user experience, use of open data and market potential. All submitted applications may go on to be released commercially, either independently by the participants, or in co-operation with a third party.

The Top 15 are competing for the $15,000 Grand Prize, three $5,000 Category Prizes, as well as a $5,000 prize for the best submission from a student team. Canadians can also have their say by voting for the Fan Favourite via canadianopendataexperience.ca who will also receive $5,000.

Why Open Data: The Government of Canada has been working with the national and international open government community to create greater transparency and accountability, increase citizen engagement, and drive innovation and economic opportunities through open data, open information, and open dialogue. The Digital Canada 150 Strategy reinforces these goals. CODE showcases not only the breadth of data available to Canadians, but also the depth of talent in Canada's developer community, while also opening doors for future technology and business leaders.

How it Works: The CODE hackathon took place over the weekend of International Open Data Day from February 20-22^nd, 2015. The national competition was open to anyone 18 and over interested in developing applications (web & mobile) using at least one federal dataset from open.canada.ca, regardless of digital prowess. Participants took part in three ways: by attending the 48-hour event at one of three VIP HUBs in Toronto, Vancouver and Montréal; participating at a Partner Hub space made available by CODE supporters; or participating virtually. At the end of the CODE hackathon, participants submitted their completed applications online where they were evaluated and considered for a chance at prizes totaling $40,000. The top 15 teams were announced on March 6^th. Those teams were invited to pitch their apps before a panel of judges in Toronto on March 16^th. Prizes for CODE 2015 will be awarded at the Grand Finale, March 26^th, 2015.

SOURCE CODE 2015: Canadian Open Data Experience

media can contact: Lydia Schaele, XMG Studio Inc., 647-526-5630, Lydia [at] xmg.com; Samantha Tam, High Road, 613-697-9272, Samantha.tam [at] highroad.com