We had a blast last weekend at ATX Hack for Change. This hackathon was created as a part of the National Day of Civic Hacking initiative to bring together great minds to work on social good projects in their local communities. Members of the community and the City of Austin pitched project proposals to solve unique issues. Developers then spent the weekend hacking away to find solutions and present their results.

Projects ranged from construction permit wizards to smart sprinkler systems and addressed problems that were prevalent in many different areas. Some projects finished the weekend with a new scope on how to solve their problem, while others left with a completed production-grade application. Most of these projects will continue to be built up, incorporated into other platforms, and develop real usability. Everyone at the hackathon came together to utilize their skills and create something that made a big change and a lasting impact.

Silicon Labs was proud to be a sponsor of the event, and our employees were excited to get involved as well. Our corporate band provided entertainment and showed that even executives can rock out. Michele Grieshaber, our CMO, delivered an insightful keynote speech about the world of innovation. We even had one of our own, Deirdre Walsh, be a project champion that led a team in developing an app to make local giving smarter with big data.

“Austin has an extremely smart community and great companies. It is amazing what you can do when you take that talent and apply it to do civil and social good,” Deirdre commented on the weekend as a whole, “These are smart people who are passionate about going above and beyond their jobs to help others.”

As a company that values unique innovation for a more connected world, it was great to be a part of an event that united people from all walks of life to support each other, work together, and apply their skillsets to directly improve the community.