I have found that excuses are my only hurdles to building something that makes an impact on society. We often feel that we are incapable of bringing changes on our own. That’s not true.

As developers work towards completing their daily tasks, the sense of impact they are creating gets lost. After all, they feel like a drop in the ocean which cannot make much of a difference. Opportunities go by unnoticed, the skills aren’t used to the fullest, and the interest in building something great dies. But this needn’t be the case.



TECHNOLOGY AND THOSE WHO WIELD IT, CAN FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THE WORLD

Big challenges like solving problems at the wake of natural disasters need simple solutions which can be deployed easily and scale as per the need. An idea of a simple solution through life experiences can help in creating the next breakthrough for disaster management and response. To bring the solution to life, we need support and that is what Call for Code is all about.

Call for Code

David Clark Cause and IBM wanted to create a challenge which doesn’t stop at just being another challenge for developers. It wanted to develop a platform which brings out the unique solutions that each and everyone has to offer and then find the best ones which can help make a significant impact at the wake of natural disasters. Call for Code initiative provides the necessary support to developers to collaborate, build and even deploy the solutions to the real world.

The solution will be built as an open technology and the winners will be assisted by experts in open source like the Red Hat Foundation, the IBM’s open source team, the Linux Foundation and more.

Getting Started for Call for Code

You aren’t expected to participate alone, and neither are you expected to code from scratch. The goal is to build solutions that brings impact to people all around the world during natural disasters.

The start with, you need to come up with an idea to solve existing problems using the latest technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, or IoT.

Once you have an idea in you mind, you can then find resources that will assist you with the development. Following are some of the best resources to get started with:

Code Patterns – IBM code patterns are ready to use code modules which can be deployed in a matter of minutes. It’s a great starting point, as it provides answers to certain parts of your solution. With patterns for data analysis, image classification, blockchain development, and more, it provides hundreds of reusable code that will save you a lot of time coding and spend more on designing the best solution. Tutorials – I have written several tutorials on AI using the IBM platform. This ranges from building an Image Recognition application to Natural Language Processing using the IBM AI services.

If you don’t have a team, it is completely fine. You can join the Code Day Sessions to find teammates or you can also find teammates through IBM Coders Community. You can be a team of up to 5 individuals.

Challenge Details

How to Participate in the Call for Code 2019?

Once you have your solution ready, you can submit all the necessary details such as title, description, a demo of the application, roadmap and contact information through the Call For Code submission page. The team leader indicated through the submission page will receive a confirmation email informing them about the successful submission of their solution.

Rules of the event, resources, judging criteria and important links can all be found on the Call for Code Challenge page

Winning Prizes

There will be one winning team which will receive 1.4 Crores INR ( 200,000 USD) as a cash prize and will be invited to the global announcement program along with support from the Linux Foundation, mentorship, investment, and implementation support.

The first and the second runners up will receive around 17.5 lacs INR ($25,00 USD) as a cash prize, invitation to the global event and support from Linux Foundation.

The third and the fourth runners up will receive 7 lacs INR in cash prize along with an invitation to the global event and support from Linux Foundation.

Call for Code 2018

Call for Code 2018 had some phenomenal projects, and the winners had built an amazing solution to establish communication during times of crisis.

You can see the project in action as it gets deployed in flood-affected regions. Project Owl is an inspiration to all the developers out there who have that idea but need a nudge to go ahead and build it.

The winning prize is a massive incentive, but the impact that a project can have is the fuel that drives Call For Code.