Calling all high-school hackers: Coded by Kids is hosting its first coding competition

Hoping to get high schoolers riled up about creating tech, nonprofit Coded by Kids announced its first-ever coding competition.

At “Ctrl+Shift” students aged 13–18 from Philly schools can apply to join a two-month sprint to create websites in three categories: nonprofit ideas, research/advocacy or community service projects.

The competition culminates at a live coding competition, where the first-place winner takes home the $1,000 grand prize. Total cash prizes, including two honorable mentions, sum up $2,750.

“Everyday we have students all over Philadelphia who are proving that our kids are capable of using code to create complex, professional products,” said the nonprofit’s CEO, Sylvester Mobley, an Air Force veteran who started the organizations in 2013. “This competition is designed to showcase their work, so that our city can see what’s possible when you invest in high quality tech education.”

Participants can join either individually or in teams of three. Attendance will be required to at least one of two workshops offered to help students develop their final project with mentors from the tech community.

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Full disclosure: Technically Media CEO Christopher Wink is on the board of Coded by Kids. He was not involved in this report.