NEW YORK, March 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 25,000 students registered to compete for $150 cash gift cards, exclusive T-shirts, digital badges, entrance to the new Master the Mainframe (MTM) Talent Lounge community, travel stipends for IBM conferences, and $1,000 in educational scholarships.
The competition was presented in three parts, with various recognition and prizes awarded at the completion of each. Total registrations were up 40% from last year, and the number of participants completing all three parts went up a whopping 123%, thanks in part to increased outreach efforts, as well as the launch of new MTM student communities that provided support along the way. Perhaps most importantly to the contest's mission of promoting a positive sentiment of mainframes to Gen Z, 85% of participants responding said they liked mainframes more after competing in the contest following an internal AngelHack survey.
Master the Mainframe announced the winners of the annual student developer competition, powered by AngelHack and sponsored by IBM. Master the Mainframe just completed its fifteenth year of promoting mainframe skills and resources to students aged 13+ around the globe. With unprecedented participation and creativity, the entries this year set a new standard for the popular competition.
Grand Prize Winners
Regional Winners
"Master the Mainframe offers an interactive learning resource for the next generation to gain experience and skills that are required to run critical enterprise systems. When you consider that IBM Z infrastructure and mainframe applications are core to operations across the world's top banks, as well as government, healthcare, retail, and other industries, it's clear how important it is to nurture the talent pipeline for mainframe skills. Congratulations to all our winners," said Meredith Stowell, VP IBM Z Ecosystem at IBM.