Virtual hackathons allow developers to participate without the need for all the various travel expenses and hassle of attending events in person - which is why Hired has decided to host their second ever hackathon online via Programmr. 

You must be in Europe to participate, and the rewards have been doubled since the last event as the recruitment marketplace was so delighted with the results of their previous contest based in San Francisco. 

The winner of the "Open Data Coding Contest" was SFHired Bikeway Network which finds the shortest biking routes between two locations. The runner-up allowed users to view and rate the best graffiti pics taken by police as they're reporting graffiti violations. Third prize used historical data to predict the next crime location and type. 

Hired's London event will be similar - and the company are looking for people to create a "cool app" for London using open-source data such as the free API provided by the London Data Store. Creations can be a web app, mobile app, or a console app. 

£5000 worth of prizes are up-for-grabs which go as follows; 

• First prize - £1500 Amazon Gift Voucher 
• Second Prize - £1000 Amazon Gift Voucher 
• Third Prize - £750 Amazon gift Voucher 
• Five Fourth Place Winner - 5 x £350 Amazon Gift Vouchers 

As for the rules, Hired say the app should be hosted on Programmr and fully-runnable on the platform. If this isn't possible, a link to your entry can be sent (as long as it is a live project) along with the source code which is hosted on a public repository such as Git. If you are unable to host your project on Programmr, they ask for a note explaining why not so it can be improved, 

The code must be open-source, but it can be commercialised after the contest ends. You can find out more details about the virtual hackathon here. 

Do you plan on taking part in Hired.com's virtual hackathon? Let us know in the comments.