Two hundred ING employees and 100 external developers/IT students from Romania are expected to participate in the bank's annual 24-hour coding event, competing to create innovative ideas for a 'next generation digital bank'.
Bucharest was chosen to host the event as part of a strategy to establish ING as a major IT employer and to support recruitment in the establishment of Romania’s ING Centre of Excellence (CoE).
Ron van Kemenade, chief information officer at the Dutch bank says: "To a bank, technology is very important in meeting the customer’s needs. To this end, we shifted our internal skills and competences, the way we work and implemented new technologies 3-4 years ago. This is how ING’s Hackathon emerged. Since we have growth plans in Romania, we have decided to organize it in Bucharest.”
Five juries will judge the entries at the 20 November event, selecting the best and most innovative ideas for the bank of the future. The team to take the first spot will be awarded with a trip to Silicon Valley. The top three finalists will also have their ideas scrutinised for future implementation at ING.