START travels to Edinburgh for the START Hackathon!
On Friday, over 35 pupils from Crieff High School, Craigmount High School, The Edinburgh Academy, George Heriot’s School, Inveralmond Community High School, Inverkeithing High School, and Kelso High School attended the Edinburgh Hackathon, hosted at the Edinburgh Futures Institute and delivered in partnership with Skillfluence and the Centre for Net Zero High Density Buildings (CeNZ-HighDB).
In just six hours, eight innovative startup ideas were developed and pitched to a panel of industry judges. The pupils’ ability to tackle real-world problems with such creativity, and within such a short time frame, was incredible!
True to START’s core mission of connecting young people with Scotland’s startup ecosystem, we were delighted to have startup founders and industry experts volunteering their time to support the day.
A huge thank you to our mentors, Sunday DADA (Gemspeaks Multimedia) and Mishal Howard-Taylor (Koda Konsult). It was particularly special to welcome back our very first START winner, Liam McColl, as a mentor on the day. Liam is proof of START’s sustained impact, continuing his entrepreneurial journey as the founder of FESTAG alongside his university studies.
A massive thank you also to our amazing judges, Dr Anitha Karthik (CeNZ-HighDB), Claire Wheelan (CodeBase), and Ifeanyichukwu Ezinmadu (SymphoMe).
Thank you as well to Oga Chan and David Rush at Skillfluence, and Amy Macpherson from CeNZ-HighDB for organising such a fantastic event!
It’s inspiring to see young people, educators and industry leaders so excited about real-world entrepreneurship, and we’re exploring how we can expand START to schools across Edinburgh and the surrounding areas next session. If you’re a school leader or business leader in the Edinburgh area and would like to get involved, please get in touch!