Southwire’s IT Department and West Georgia Technical College’s (WGTC) Computer Information Systems (CIST) program partnered to host the first-ever Computer Science Innovators Challenge at WGTC’s Carroll campus. The event aimed to inspire creativity and innovation among participants of all skill levels by challenging them to develop unique projects within a limited timeframe, tackling unfamiliar concepts.
Tara Shackleford, CIST Program Chair, emphasized the opportunity for students to showcase their skills, problem-solving abilities, and potentially impress future employers like Southwire. This exposure could lead to internship opportunities and future career prospects.
Three teams participated in the challenge and presented their projects at the event. The winning team, consisting of Glenn Freeman, Kristy Bishop, and Christian Putman, developed “Know Your Power,” a power consumption calculator in natural language that helps users understand appliance power draw. The second-place team, John Paschal and Taylor Lowery, created “Streamline, Simplify, Scale (Waybridge SAP/ER)” to automate the scaling process for transportation and direct trucks and trailers. Finally, Robert Galan and Kevin Keeler designed “The Future of City Exploration,” a traveling tool that uses AI to guide users and provide historical data and fun facts.
Each team received Visa gift cards ranging from $50 to $150 for their innovative projects. To learn more about WGTC’s CIST programs or this event, contact Tara Shackleford at tara.shackleford@westgatech.edu or visit www.westgatech.edu
