E-hackathon participant: "I've been friends with E-technology since I was 5"

May 5, 2020

Ekaterina Shin. Photo: Personal archive

The most expected forum for developers will start on May 6. E-Hackathon is a platform where participants will develop digital solutions within 48 hours.

The initiators of the Hackathon believe that creativity and innovation of the IT community will help provide access to solutions to problems of women and children. It should be noted that addressing the problems faced by the children of migrant workers during the quarantine is a separate task for the participants in the event.   

One of those who intends to contribute to eliminating the consequences of the epidemic in the republic -  Sarah Niyazahunova. Despite the fact that she is only 19, she has over 10 years of experience in information technology.

"It all started with a banal love to video games, then I started getting carried away with creating my own games. In high school, we had a lot of programming, and the focus was on front-end. We created a simple website (it was a project work in 9th grade). Besides, my family has a lot of programmers - my brother, uncle, father. I have been friends with E-technology since I was five" -

                             Sarah Niyazahunova, E-hackathon participant.

Sarah Niyazakunova. Photo: Personal archive

It should be noted that E-hackathon is an opportunity to show talents and knowledge of young professionals who have long matured plans, but had no chance to implement them. For example, Sarah was thinking about developing something useful for the country's ecology.

"Then we thought about how we can help solve the problems and thought about developing an application. But we left the idea behind and decided to do it in the summer, when there would be more time, because in addition to studying, we also had training and courses, and work. We didn't have enough time for development and design. After a while, as everyone knows, there was a virus outbreak and we were all quarantined. Despite the fact that the study we have in online mode, the load was less, Then we received invitation to participate in the hackathon and we decided to take part. Of course, it's exciting and responsible, but we think this project deserves attention. Still, we have already won the fear of participation, and this is already important for us” -

                           Sarah Niyazahunova, E-hackaton participant.

In the field of information technology, some people like to create websites, another games, some people  find robotics very exciting.  And Sarah likes more backend - development. This part of programming is responsible for the backend of the website. For its functional content, not for the visual component. Now Sarah is a first-year student of the Kyrgyz-German Institute of Applied Informatics.

But not only those who have been specializing in information technologies for a long time intend to participate in E-hackathon. 18-year-old Ekaterina Shin is studying with Sarah. Her experience is not as great as that of her predecessor, but in a short period of time she managed to deepen into programming.

Ekaterina Shin. Photo: Personal archive

"I think that nowadays IT is the most popular profession. Initially, it was a major factor. But as I went deeper into this profession, I realized that it was not only very interesting and fascinating. It's also an area where everyone can find a direction to their liking. I like UI/UX design better. Because it's very interesting to plan how the user will interact with the interface first, and then to think of what he will look like. I started getting interested in IT recently. My sisters have been in the IT industry a long time.

This is our first Hackathon. It is very exciting, but at the same time, I am very much looking forward to the beginning of the Hackathon. As they say, the main thing is to win, but I think we have a chance to win".

                 Ekaterina Shin, participant of the E-Hackathon.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), together with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), will organize E - hackathon on May 6 to develop solutions to mitigate the negative impact of the quarantine on children, youth and women in Kyrgyzstan.