Episode 44: Power Is With The States

Talking Cities Episode 44: Power is with the States

Matt talks with New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul about how humble beginnings with her very socially-conscious family pulled her toward public service at a very young age; her start in politics working with legendary Buffalonian Tim Russert and longtime Senator of New York Daniel Patrick Moynahan; her enthusiasm around Buffalo’s burgeoning tech scene as seen on the BNMC; and her pride in her role to support Governor Cuomo’s laser focus on bringing back upstate New York by turning upside the typical economic development model.

Lt. Gov. Hochul has been an elected official at the town, county, state, and federal levels, providing her with an extraordinarily unique perspective of how government can truly work for the people. She view her ability to find common issues to “cross the aisle” as a hallmark of her success in Washington. She notes the importance of collaboration among women of different parties to enact great positive change.

She is chairing the NYS Women’s Suffrage Commission and speaks passionately about encouraging everyone, especially women, to step up and take risks to do great things.

Listen now!

 

Innovation Summit at TCO17

The Innovation Summit on Tuesday, October 24th will bring together business and thought leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs from across the country, and the event is set against the backdrop of the Topcoder Open Finals — the ultimate programming and design tournament for elite members of the Topcoder Community.
You’ll get to witness live, on-stage competition between top designers, developers, and data scientists, and speakers from organizations such as M&T Bank, Illuminare Group, and Visionware Solutions will lead discussions on topics including:

  • Digital transformation and customer experience
  • Agile and the art of mindfulness
  • Blockchain, AI, and the next wave of digital
  • Finding the right tech talent in the gig economy
  • Changing work styles for millennials and remote teams

Get all the details here and reserve your seat here

BNMC STEM Video Challenge Powered by AT&T

STEM Video Challenge for Students in grades 5 – 12!

How will advances in technology lead to a better future for Western New York?

This video challenge, powered by AT&T, is an opportunity for students in grades 5-12 to create a video to show how they predict technology will lead to a better future for Western New Yorkers. It can be anything you can imagine, as long as it’s improving the future of our community. Utilize technology (mobile devices, drones, animation, special effects) to make your video as impactful as possible – just make sure it’s wp-contentropriate for all ages and less than 60 seconds long.

Ideas include technology that:

  • Improves the health of our community;
  • Advances our school systems;
  • Provides better connectivity among neighbors;
  • Improves transportation options;
  • Any technology advancements that you think will create a better Western New York.

Eligibility

  • Must be in grades 5-12 and under 18 years of age
  • Middle school contest is for students in grades 5-8
  • High school contest is for students in grades 9 – 12
  • Entries accepted in both the individual and group categories
  • Must be a resident of Erie & Niagara County

Timeline

  • September 11, 2017 – Challenge Opens
  • October 6, 2017 – Deadline for video submission
  • October 17, 2017 – Finalists announced
  • October 24, 2017 – winners announced

Prizes

  • Individual winners in middle & high school (1st, 2nd & 3rd places)
  • Group winners in middle and high school (1st, 2nd & 3rd places)
  • Cash prizes of up to $500 for all finalists.

Competition Guidelines:

There will be two categories of video competition: Individual and Group for both middle & high school

  • There is no limit to the number of members of a group in the group video category, however all participants must be supervised by their school teacher, principal, or club leader
  • Video should be wp-contentrox. 45 seconds in length, no more than 60.  Any video exceeding 60 seconds will be disqualified.
  • Students should use the video to showcase their creativity.  There are no restrictions on video content however video should not contain any nudity, vulgarity, or other offensive language or images.

Criteria for Judging

  • The video must explore how technology advancements will improve the Western New York in the future. The video must demonstrate an idea and its impact. For example, the video may look at how autonomous vehicles may reduce the need for the number of parking spaces currently available in the city, and offer ideas for what that space could be used for instead.
  • Videos will be evaluated based on the following areas:
    • Creativity
    • Originality
    • Technical skills used to create & edit video (meaning, how difficult was it to make)
    • Clear message that sticks to the theme
  • Videos will be judged by a panel of judges to be announced soon.
  • Email accompanying the video should include:
    • Student’s name/s
    • Parent or legal guardian names
    • Supervising teacher/adult name
    • School name and contact information including address, phone number and email address
    • Grade level of student/s
    • Each entry must be the original work of the student(s).

By submitting a video, each student confirms that he/she has received all relevant and wp-contentropriate permissions from all individuals who wp-contentear in the video, and their parent/ guardian, and that he/she has obtained all necessary permissions to use all material such as images, text, voice, music, and any other content.

Video Submission Requirements:

Complete the submission form and upload your video. This wp-contentlication is required for all submissions. Please fill out the form with a parent, legal guardian or school representative – they will need to accept the terms and conditions.

  • Must be in grades 5-12 and under 18 years of age.
  • Open to youth in grades 5-12 in Erie or Niagara Counties.
  • Middle School contest is students in grades 5-8; High School contest for students in grades 9-12
  • Entries accepted in both individual and group categories

The deadline for submissions is on or before October 6, 2017

Finalists will be announced October 17, 2017 and winners will be announced on October 24th at the TCO Finals at the BNMC. 

See press release to learn more!

 

BNMC to Host Algorithm Competition for Students and Professionals to Build Skills in Data Science, Other Tech Fields

BNMC to Host Algorithm Competition for Students and Professionals to Build Skills in Data Science, Other Tech Fields

Coders of all levels encouraged to participate in the online competition during the 2017 Topcoder Open in Buffalo

 

Buffalo, N.Y., September 11, 2017 – The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) is seeking participants for the Algorithm Competition powered by Topcoder, for aspiring and professional coders that will be held in conjunction with the 2017 Topcoder Open (TCO) hosted by the BNMC in October. TCO is a prestigious programming, design, and data science competition that attracts some of the world’s most talented design and technology experts.  The event is sponsored by Google, Booz Allen, Praxair, University at Buffalo, and Superior Group.

The Algorithm Competition is a Single Round Match (SRM) virtual coding competition aimed at aspiring and current coders with a focus on college and graduate students. The online competition will begin on October 10th at 6 PM. Participants will compete to solve the same problems in the time allotted. Participants will be awarded points for submitting solutions that successfully compile, and points are based on the total time elapsed from the time the problem was opened until the time it was submitted.  Participants can also challenge the functionality of their opponents’ code submissions, which can result in earning or losing points, and automated system tests are wp-contentlied to all code submissions.

The top 10 scorers will win an all-access, VIP badge for the Topcoder Finals that will be held in dig at the Innovation Center on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus on October 20-24 in addition to other prizes. Interested participants can learn more about the competition through blog posts, tutorials and other member guides prior to the competition. Also planned is a live chat with the Algorithm Competition Manager on September 21 at 11 am. Details can be found at http://topcodr.co/BNMCAlgoTourney.

Mike Morris, CEO of Topcoder added, “Ever since Topcoder was founded in 2001, part of our core mission has been to provide opportunities for individuals of all ages and skill levels to learn and improve their technical skills. Hundreds of thousands of students from around the world have joined Topcoder to get hands-on experience with the technologies that drive our digital world – and to help them prepare for the STEM jobs of tomorrow.”

According to Matt Enstice, President & CEO, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc., “Hosting the Topcoder Open in Buffalo is only one part of a larger strategy to build interest and capabilities in the tech sector throughout Western New York.  We are actively pursuing new ways to develop and promote the advancement of technology on the Medical Campus and coding is central to this focus. The Algorithm competition is designed to give aspiring coders an idea of what Topcoder is all about while encouraging more young people to get involved in tech fields and the coding field in particular. This competitions is just one of many events and activities that will be part of the Topcoder Open event this fall.”

TCO was launched in 2001 and is now recognized as the world’s premier competition for the most talented minds. Many of the world’s most respected tech companies keep a close watch on the competition and often hire top performers immediately. Past winners have gone on to successful careers at Google, Facebook, Blizzard Entertainment and Cisco. Buffalo was chosen as the 2017 site due to its leading edge hospitals and health care providers, world renowned research and banking institutions, socially innovative private companies as well as its concentration of colleges and universities, most notably the University at Buffalo, home to the academic supercomputing center and significant science and engineering programs.

 

About Topcoder and the Topcoder Open

Topcoder is a workforce marketplace with 1.1 million developers, designers, and data scientists around the world. For more than a decade Topcoder has helped customers ranging from startups to Fortune100 companies accelerate innovation, solve challenging problems, and tap into hard to find skills. Enterprises distribute work to our global network through the Topcoder Marketplace, where individuals with the right skills participate in competitions to win money, build skills, and earn recognition. Topcoder Open is the flagship event of the community. The best performers qualify to enter the Topcoder Open finals through accumulating points on the platform and in regional competitions around the world. Previous finals have been held in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Learn more at www.topcoder.com.

 

About the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.    

The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) is a self-sustaining social enterprise successfully combining innovation, job creation, and urban revitalization. It serves as the umbrella organization of the anchor institutions that make up the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus located within the 120-acre campus bordering Allentown, the Fruit Belt and Downtown. The BNMC Inc. fosters conversation and collaboration among its member institutions, its partners and the community to address critical issues impacting them, including entrepreneurship, energy, access and transportation, workforce and procurement, neighborhoods, and healthy communities, with the goal of increasing economic development and building a strong community. www.bnmc-old.local.

 

For more information, contact:

Susan Kirkpatrick, BNMC, skirkpatrick@bnmc-old.local

716.866.8002(m)