As week 2 of TOConnect 2021 comes to a close, so does the realization that we’re half-way through. Seems like it was only yesterday when we were learning about data transformation with Data Pipeline from Microsoft, and roasting resumes with SET.Hacks(). Let’s have a peek at what else we’ve been up to Cross-posted from Medium: https://medium.com/@TOHacks/half-way-checkpoint-tohacks-2021-bootcamp-70ebf8bd1a09 ..read more

Last week I held a Kubernetes Quickstart Workshop as part of the TOHacks 2022 Hype Week. Together, we went over some basic Kubernetes concepts, API resources, and the problems they solved relative to non-cloud native architecture. As part of this workshop I created some simple K8s cheat-sheets/material, along with a whole new Kubernetes cluster which I exposed as part of a hands-on lab. Participants, which included high school/post-secondary students, found the workshop pretty cool. I’ve heard feedback post-workshop that their friends thought they were hacking as they used kubectl. Kids, kube ..read more

You like code, we like code. Let’s write some sweet, sweet code — together. TOHacks 2022 — Toronto’s foremost hackathon will be closing applications on May 23rd. Now is the time to register for a chance to win some cool Apple swag, an opportunity to build a wicked awesome solution and a guarantee to learn something new. Leading up to the hackathon (May 24th — 27th), we’ve got several workshops and activities dabbling in new tech and topics dubbed Hype Week. Who said that developers were boring sticks in the mud? All of this builds up towards the grand finale — the TOHacks 2022 hackathon happe ..read more

The $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard now places Microsoft as the 3rd largest gaming company behind Tencent and Sony; setting in stone once and for all the significance of Microsoft Gaming. With huge franchise titles such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft now under their belt, we can expect the next few years to be very exciting. Looks like we’ll see more utility from Xbox Gaming besides as a launcher for Halo and Fortnite. This isn’t the first of its kind from Microsoft Gaming, nor would it be the last. Some of the most notable being Mojang, the studio behind sa ..read more

2021 was an eccentric one, riddled with changes from the widespread indoctrinate of remote work and study programs to virtual everything. Meetings, workshops and hackathons are but a few things we have had to deliver 100% digitally. In spite of all this, we were not deterred. Our TOHacks 2021 hackathon ended up being one of our most successful virtual hackathons to date with over 700 participants and 190+ projects. We then followed up with TOConnect 2021 which delivered dozens of workshop sessions to foster the leaders of tomorrow. This would not have been possible without the support of insp ..read more

Two weeks ago, I partook in a hackathon revolving around Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) — a standard defining the format of electronic health records. This experience was an eye-opener, a true deep-dive below the surface to the rest of the iceberg that is healthcare data. Using FHIR, teams were challenged to address particular problems in any way they pleased — as long as it leveraged integration to FHIR systems. Our team spent the majority of the time playing around with the data — it was not until the last few hours that we addressed the problem and built a cute little vit ..read more

Not long from now we will be seeing a surge of new interns enter the tech space for winter 2022, along with a surge of fresh hires starting their IT journeys. If you have reached this far, congratulations! You have already convinced your employer of your unique talents that make you best suited for this role. Keep that ball rolling and show the rest of your team why you belong there as well! Make a strong first impression, arrive early, and submit deliverables on time — all of which are generic advice heard at the beginning of employment. Let us skip the boring-alities and head straight to som ..read more

Four score and several nights later, TOConnect 2021 comes to an end. As for participants, their journey has just begun - whether that’s continuing education, entering the workforce, or starting a new project of their own. Nonetheless, the TOHacks team is proud to have been a part of it by imparting knowledge and valuable skills through various mastermind workshops from data science and machine learning to demystified tech and tech diversity. We also held project management and personal branding workshops, fueling the entrepreneur within. Cross-posted from Medium: https://medium.com/@TOHacks/t ..read more

At TOHacks, we take learning — and corgis — seriously. As such, believe us when we say it: the rough plunge into virtual-everything does not need to stunt your learning. Muster the courage, whip out your digital notepad and connect with us @ TOConnect 2021 — a 4-week accelerator designed to help you build out your next BIG idea. Cross-posted from Medium: https://medium.com/@TOHacks/maximize-your-experience-at-tohacks-2021-boot-camps ..read more