Hertz holds fifth annual Hackathon

From everyday life to corporate boardrooms, everyone likes a good hack to solve some of life’s more perplexing problems. For the fifth year, Estero-based Hertz recently invited college students from across Florida to a 24-hour event to help the company find some real-life hack/solutions … and in the process maybe even launch their own careers.

The company recently hosted the 5th Annual Hertz Hackathon at its Estero world headquarters, tasking more than 80 students from Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Polytechnic University, University of Central Florida and University of South Florida to pose solutions to a real-world company challenge.

“The Hackathon provides college students from across Florida the opportunity to help Hertz solve real-life problems that are important to our customers,” says Hertz Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Opal Perry in a statement. “Equally as important, it offers students the chance to learn first-hand from one another and their employee mentors. It’s really phenomenal to see the ideas, creativity and energy the students bring to the event.”

This year’s theme was “Location of the Future,” challenging students to help Hertz create a car rental office that enhances ease and efficiency for customers. A location of the future was set up in the lobby that included kiosks, cars and an exit gate as students competed for prizes in the areas of visual recognition, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things.

“We also reminded them that Hertz has implemented solutions and hired top talent from previous Hackathons,” adds Hertz Vice President of E-commerce Steve Wittman.