North Island College's (NIC) two teams of engineering students finished first and second in a "hackathon" focusing on food and farming challenges. NIC found out about the Food and Farming Hackathon in the middle of February and entered two teams.
The first-place team, the Bulldozers, were comprised of Connor Gallagher (captain), Joel Baker, Tyson Bonnier and Justin Shepherd. The second-place team was WestCoast BestCoast, captained by Fallon Hayter, with members Austin Salt, Spencer Vallintine, and Ryaan Kalaar. The event was organized by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council, along with STEM Minds and Boreal Farms.
The Hackathon took place on March 3 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The two teams took part in the Villager M building at the Comox Valley campus, where they competed virtually against students from across Canada, using their skills to solve real-world infrastructure problems.
WestCoast BestCoast designed a system for vertical farming to grow food in places like an apartment. "During the Food and Farming Hackathon, we realized that simply giving a topic your full attention for a few hours can really grow your perspective," said Hayter. "We opted to design a hydroponic system, but we needed a way to stand out in the current market … This design, made in a time crunch, needed every team member working in harmony for success, allowing our ideas to bounce around and become their strongest versions."
Read more at Comox Valley Record
