As a tech for good company, we are beyond excited to be a global partner in PayPal’s Battlehack – along with Twitter, Twilio, SendGrid and others.

There are 14 Battlehacks taking place across the world in cities such as New York, Singapore and Berlin and I’ll be attending the first one next week in Melbourne. We’ll also be sending some of  our developers in the API team to a few others to ensure that hackers can quickly and easily make the most of our giving technology in the race for the, now famous, axe trophy (yes, a real axe) – and ultimately the global $100,000 prize!

In general, on Day 1, registration opens and developers scope and share skills, create teams, meet the judges and then hacking commences. Add food, food and more food all the way to Day 2. You hack through the night, grab a nap, have a beer break, and on Day 2 there is more hacking and more food, until hacking ends around noon. Judging then begins and prizes are awarded. Here’s a teaser…

Last year’s winners were from Tel Aviv, winning the $100,000 grand prize. Their winning hack was AirHop – a collaborative consumption application for consumers to share carrier or wi-fi access. The app enables a mobile phone with no connectivity to “hop” on to another person’s device to make a phone call or send a text in exchange for a PayPal-enabled payment.

“Everyone has faced a situation without connectivity and it often happens at the worst time, like personal emergencies or disasters.” the winning team from Tel Aviv told us. “AirHop creates an opt-in community that solves the no connectivity issue and possibly even saves lives in the most extreme situations. Without BattleHack we would have never had the chance to do something so bold. It was an incredible experience.”

So how can you get involved?

It’s free to sign up to any of the city hacks but be quick because Battlehack is always the hottest hacking ticket in town.

Get the developers at your charity to sign up – not only is it a great experience, they could create something amazing for your charity and even have the chance to win $100,000 at the grand finals at the end of the year.

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