BBVA Calls On Experts to Participate in Its Sixth Hackathon

To support the digital transformation of the financial services sector, BBVA Mexico kicks off the company’s sixth Hackathon which will present challenges posed by business units, global entrepreneurs and developers in attempt to nurture the talent of tomorrow.

"At BBVA in Mexico, our goal is to strengthen ties with innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems not only in our country but beyond our borders. We are sure that in this sixth edition of the BBVA Hackathon we will see a lot of talent but, above all, creativity to find innovative solutions and opportunities in line with the digital era in which we are increasingly immersed. Undoubtedly, it will be a great experience for everyone participating in this edition,” said Hugo Nájera Alva, Head of Customer Solutions at BBVA Mexico, according to the company release.

Ethical hacking, a commonly misunderstood field, is becoming increasingly common place as governments and business try to keep up with continually innovating cybercriminals. Events such as this help test and identify system flaws, narrow in on areas of improvement and develop incident-resolution protocols to name a few. They are also a good way to help emerging talent refine and build on their skills so they can aid in the architecture of security and defense systems.

The BBVA Hackaton has become one of the most prominent in the country, attracting more than 3,500 applicants, an increase of 18 percent against 2019 when 792 participants were registered. Event coordinators are particularly excited about the talent pool this year, which includes university students, programmers (iOS, Andriod, Java, SQL, Oracle, Python, HTML), UX graphic designers, accountants, financiers, economists, data analysts and technology entrepreneurs.

This year, participants from Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Spain will form teams of four to six members who will be given 48 hours to produce a solution from scratch to the proposed challenge by sponsors Cisco, Tata Consultancy Services and Amazon Web Services. Competitors will be able to use and integrate BBVA’s latest technologies, products, tools and services, in addition to those offered by participating sponsors. Moreover, they can rely on participating experts from several BBVA business units and strategic allies including Oracle and IPN.

The challenges will consider digital innovation for SMEs, social networks, digital transformation, financial management tools, technological architecture, apps and data analytics. These themes will also intersect with common ESG practices, such as environmental impact and sustainability. Participants will be able to refer to BBVA Talent & Culture teams from all participating countries and experts from IPN.

The winning team of each of the nine rounds of the BBVA Hackathon 2021 will win MX$50,000 (US$2,400). Meanwhile, the team with the best devised solution will be awarded MX$100,000 (US$5,000).

If you would like to participate in the BBVA Hackathon, click this link and fill out the form.