ITA expects Tech Challenge to be even bigger in 2017

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - September 06, 2017) - Direct marketing to 22 universities, and 50 expected to take part overall, the Illinois Technology Association (ITA) today announced its university participants for the 2017 Tech Challenge program, a programming and coding skills competition focused on developing and retaining tech talent in Illinois. The goal of the program is to ensure the best tech talent is drawn to and stays in the Midwest to help drive our industry forward for decades to come.

"By continuously increasing the participation of this program year after year, we are making an even greater talent impact in the Chicagoland area." said Trisha Degg, ITA Vice President of Talent Programs. "Last year, our challenge reached students all around the country, from the East Coast to the West, exposing almost 800 students to the Chicago tech scene and the great companies that thrive here."

Starting in September, qualifying challenges will be held with the participating universities. These initial events last approximately three hours and include an online coding assessment and a presentation from an Illinois-based technology company.

Universities hosting an on-campus qualifying challenge include:

• Georgia Tech
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Indiana University, Bloomington
• Lewis University
• Loyola University
• Northern Illinois University
• Northwestern University
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
• Saint Louis University
• University of Chicago
• University of Illinois, Chicago
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Washington University, St. Louis

Universities hosting a virtual qualifying challenge include:

• Carnegie Mellon
• Case Western Reserve University
• DePaul University
• Gateway Technical College
• Illinois State University
• Milwaukee School of Engineering
• Missouri University of Science and Technology
• Notre Dame
• Purdue University

After all the qualifying challenges are complete, the top 50 student coders are invited to a weekend event in Chicago, October 27-28, 2017, to take the Final Challenge and interview with sponsoring technology companies for internships and entry-level positions.

Find full details about this year's program at itatechchallenge.com

Thank you to this year's Tech Challenge Platinum Sponsor, Trustwave; Gold Sponsors, CCC Information Services, Conversant, Corptax, Enova, IMC, Morningstar, Motorola Solutions, PEAK6 and Silver Sponsors, AT&T, Cars.com, GrubHub, Peapod, Uptake and Workiva.

About ITA

The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) scales Illinois tech companies. With innovative resources that allow members to collaborate with each other, build their talent networks and elevate their local and national presence, ITA is the region's strongest advocate for fostering innovation and growth. Founded in 2005 and supporting 500-plus growth-stage tech companies, ITA has a rich history of driving business forward. For more information, visit illinoistech.org, follow @ITAbuzz on Twitter or find us on LinkedIn.