ATI Announces Winners of Hackathon for SC HBCUs and TTC

SUMMERVILLE, S.C., Nov. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Technology International (ATI) is proud to announce the winners of the Hack@SChack '22 hackathon that took place Saturday, November 5, at Denmark Technical College. The event provided an exciting, competitive opportunity for underrepresented minority students from South Carolina's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Trident Technical College to hone their cyber security and computer science skills. The TTCTeam from Trident Technical College are the event winners. Tying for second place is Denmark Technical College's EET Cyberpunk and Morris College's Hornets. In a tie for third place is Benedict College's Team 2 and Team Gigatron from Denmark Technical College.

The Hackathon was the culminating event of a program that began with a nine-month virtual mentorship and a one-week immersion internship experience between participating students and members of the SC-based cyber and information technology industry. The program began with ATI's receipt of the SC Commerce Office of Innovation 2022 Relentless Challenge grant. While students learned real world skills and developed valuable relationships, industry was able to connect with local talent to meet their long-term workforce demands and help instill a passion for the cyber field.

"It's great to learn about cybersecurity in courses, but being able to put that knowledge into practice brings classroom lessons to life. Participating in Hack@SCHack was an amazing competition and I'll carry what I learned as I pave my way to a successful career in the technology industry," said Denmark student Keithan Thompson.

ATI thanks and recognizes the partners and supporters who made this event and program possible: 

• South Carolina Department of Commerce
• South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs
• Office of U.S. Senator Tim Scott
• Charleston Defense Contractors Association
• SC Tech, an initiative of SC Council on Competitiveness
• South Carolina Small Business Development Centers
• National Science and Engineering Alliance, Inc.
• Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic
• FBI – Columbia Field Office
• Daniel Island Community Fund
• Keynote Speaker Frank Abagnale, one of the world's leading experts in cybercrime, FBI associate, and subject of the movie Catch Me If You Can.
• Fusion Cyber
• ATP GOV
• Ignite Digital
• McClatchy
• Life Cycle Engineering (LCE)
• And the following educational institutions
• Allen University
• Benedict College
• Clinton College
• Claflin University
• Denmark Technical College
• Morris College
• SC State University
• Trident Technical College
• Voorhees University

"Denmark Technical College is thrilled to have hosted Hack@SCHack, the inaugural HBCU Hackathon. It is an amazing opportunity for students from HBCUs around the state, as well as Trident Technical College, to stretch the IT skills they have acquired and explore technology career pathways. Denmark Technical College is excited to partner with ATI and HBCUs across South Carolina as we work together to close the diversity gap in the technology sector," stated Dr. Willie L Todd, Jr., Denmark Technical College's President and CEO.

For more information about the Hackathon, please visit: https://hackaschack.ati.org/

ATI, a public-service nonprofit based in Summerville, South Carolina, builds and manages collaborations that conduct research and development of new technologies to solve our nation's national security challenges. Fueled by a community of experts from industry, academia, and government, ATI accelerates impact by using the power of collaboration to help the federal government quickly acquire novel technologies. ATI is a subsidiary of Analytic Services, Inc. (ANSER), a public-service research institute organized as a nonprofit corporation, which is dedicated to informing decisions that shape the nation's future.

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SOURCE ATI (Advanced Technology International)