Bowie State University News October 7, 2020 Students to Develop an Innovation Using Emerging Tech & Custom Apps An all-star team of Bowie State University computer technology students are representing the Cyber Squad in a national tech innovation challenge from Oct. 9-10, hosted virtually this year by Black Enterprise (BE) magazine and sponsored by American Airlines. Top students from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the compete in the tournament-style BE Smart Hackathon, where Bowie State has sent a team since 2017. The five-person BSU team, coached by Dr. Haydar Teymourlouei from the Department of Technology and Security, will compete against student teams representing historically Black colleges and university from across the country. The students, who have trained since January, have honed their skills in using security tools, emerging technologies and custom applications. "Even during this pandemic, we found ways to prepare our students for the competition," said Dr. Teymourlouei. "Our students are doing great. They have made the necessary preparations for an event like this." The BSU team of computer technology majors are: junior Elesha Jackson (team captain), along with seniors Chiebuka Ahaghoto, Jarrod Holley, Oscar Tejada Cruz and Tiona Brown. Although it is Jackson's first hackathon competition, she is confident as the caption in her team's ability to develop a tech innovation using the skills they learned with the Cyber Squad. "I'm very excited to present our idea. Working with Dr. Haydar, I've definitely learned really good presentation skills, time management and organization, as well as technical skills like how to configure networks and incorporate blockchain and how to come up with an idea using those tools and techniques," she said. "I feel like when I'm going into the workplace, maybe I'll have a leg up because I have these skills." Each year, the hackathon teams are presented with a new task that remains unknown until the competition's launch. A panel of judges grade the teams on a number of technical categories, as well as their teamwork and problem-solving ability. The event not only gives students a chance to showcase their skills to recruiters, but it also gives them an opportunity to attend workshops, receive coaching and career advice. BE Smart Hackathon students experience great success in making the right connections to start their careers. Last year, Alhaji Kanu ('19) landed a full-time job from American Airlines after representing Bowie State on the Cyber Squad team. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. Building Capacity for Humanities Special Collections at HBCUs - Become an ally and partner with us to protect, preserve and share a more authentic record of American history. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/humanities-2019.html for more information. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/ and click on the Donate Now button to invest in this project. Your support is appreciated. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/