AngelHack, a leading global developer ecosystem with over 300,000 software developers, has announced the launch of hacksingapore, the nation’s annual flagship hackathon. Supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and partnering with Alibaba Cloud, Meta, VMWare, Mercedes Benz, Heineken, and Trust Bank, the month-long hackathon will begin this May and will conclude with a finale at Asia Tech x Singapore (ATxSG), IMDA’s flagship tech event.

The hackathon aims to bridge the tech skills gap by providing aspiring tech talents with the skills and guidance they need to use tech for good. With emerging tech trends such as 5G, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) expected to influence high demand for workers skilled in these areas in the next three to five years, hacksingapore will convene trained or aspiring technology professionals from across the island to work on projects using these emerging technologies that can have a meaningful impact on Singaporean lives and communities.

Participants will receive challenge statements guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and will work on projects that fall under three key themes: financial inclusion, sustainability, and digital empowerment. The hackathon will consist of HackSocials, two in-person events for participants to connect and interact with like-minded individuals and learn from tech experts, as well as innovation workshops and mentor office hours that will provide participants with greater training and resources to help bring their ideas to fruition. More than 1000 developers in Singapore are expected to join the hackathon, and the concept will also travel to other cities in the next phase, such as Saigon, Seoul, Bangalore, and Mexico.

The winner of the hackathon will clinch the grand prize of SGD50,000, and the event is expected to energize the developer community in Singapore through in-demand skills and mentorship, while creating exciting innovation opportunities for the tech sector through co-creation and collaboration.

Justin Ng, Head of AngelHack, said, “We are looking forward to doing what we do best at AngelHack as we bring together changemakers, technopreneurs, and code creators to devise solutions for pressing real-world problems. The tech industry needs newer approaches to attract, compensate and upskill talents with specialized skills, and a concerted effort is needed to address these areas and lower skills mismatch.”

Derek Wang, General Manager of Singapore, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, said, “For Singapore to be on track with its digital transformation roadmap, it is imperative to build a future-ready workforce, which is why having annual events such as hacksingapore plays an important role in advancing talent. We are glad to be part of the kick-off team and this ties in closely with Alibaba Cloud’s longstanding commitment to building a sustainable pool of talents who are well-equipped to handle the digital demands of the now and the future.”

Meta’s Managing Director in Singapore, Damian Kim, added, “Meta’s mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. We are proud to support AngelHack’s program and bring Singapore’s developers, designers, and entrepreneurs together to collaborate on ideas that have the potential to help solve some of our biggest social and environmental challenges.”