CryptoChicks Team L to R: Dr. Muhammad Khan, Brooklyn Carlson, Mahshid Aghania, Cassandra Olfert, Katherine Campos, Kathleen Gonzales, and Jefferson Gardner. Not pictured: Kairvee Bhatt and Leila Karimi

By Lara Fominoff

Cutting Edge Competition

Lethbridge students to take part in international business and tech competition

Jun 1, 2019 | 8:01 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Seven women from Lethbridge College, the University of Lethbridge and Victoria Park High School will take part in the international “CryptoChicks Hackathon” competition from May 31 to June 2 in Toronto.

Students Cassandra Olfert and Katherine Campos who are from Lethbridge College, the U of L’s Kathleen Gonzales, Kairvee Bhatt, Leila Karimi and Mahshid Aghania, and High School Student Brooklyn Carlson have all been meeting since mid-April to prep for the competition.

The Lethbridge team will be led by Jefferson Gardner, certified blockchain expert and CEO and co-founder of InBridge Inc., and Dr. Muhammad Khan, an assistant professor in the U of L Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.

The goal of the competition is to make two pitches; one, a business solution and the other a code and tech solution that combined, to solve a real-world problem

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The team has chosen to focus on a solution to “address the Canadian canola industry’s need for traceability in answer to a trade partner closing its borders because the crop was tainted with an unnamed contaminant.”

Over the two months, China has refused to accept Canadian Canola, because it said shipments were allegedly contaminated with pests. The Canadian government has vehemently denied the accusations.

Canada is the world’s largest producer of Canola. About $4 billion of the product was sent to China in 2018, making it the biggest consumer of the product in the world.

Olfert and Campos, who have completed their first year in Computer Information Technology, are working on creating “smart contracts” – pieces of self-executing code that make a product traceable from a seed through processing and “every truck, train, and factory in between.”

Lethbridge was encouraged to submit a team after someone from CyptoChicks served as a judge at a “hackathon” previously held at the U of L.

“We could have brought any problem or solution to the Hackathon, but we think our pitches will be particularly relevant and urgent, and the agricultural and blockchain focus will stand out,” said Gardner.

Dr. Khan says he’s proud not only that the team is tackling “an issue of great contemporary importance for the Albertan and Canadian economy,” but that the opportunity showcases aspiring and inspiring women.

“The gender gap in STEM is a bitter reality being challenged by these aspiring developers and entrepreneurs,” he said.

Other partners and contributors include Career Transitions, Regional Innovation Network of Southern Alberta (RINSA), and Alberta Innovates.