Fresno State senior Nancy Mohamed will compete in the Clinton Foundation Codeathon March 31 and April 1 at the University of California, Berkeley as part of the 2016 Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) Meeting.

During the two-day codeathon, developers, designers and technologists will create products relevant to CGI U’s five areas of focus: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. By the end of the event, participants will pitch their creations to a panel of judges in the fields of technology and social innovation.

CGI U brings together college students and leaders from around the globe who are interested in taking steps to create a better world. The Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship manages Fresno State’s involvement in the program.

“We are exceptionally excited for Nancy to participate in this opportunity,” said Dr. Scott Moore, interim executive director of the Lyles Center. “We know how talented she is and celebrate her inclusion in this prestigious event.”

Nancy is a double major in biology and graphic design. It’s this experience, she said, that sparked her interest in the CGI U Codeathon. “I have always wanted to participate in a codeathon or hackathon,” Nancy said. “I am excited to meet other students interested in utilizing their design and programming skills in the social impact sector.

“I’m curious to learn how these students learned to code, what resources they use, how they got started, and what they hope to do with it in the future,” explained Nancy. “I’m fairly new in the area of coding, so I’m always up for learning a thing or two.”

Earlier this year, Nancy was invited to attend the ninth annual CGI U Meeting with her plan to use a crowdfunding consulting service to assist local shelters. Attendees of the CGI U Meeting participate in multiple sessions to network, build skills and identify potential partners. The CGI U program features topic experts, university representatives and celebrities to discuss solutions to some of world’s most critical challenges.

Ben Warmerdam, a freshman majoring in business administration, also was invited to attend the 2016 CGI U Meeting. Warmerdam’s idea, Connecting Ages, a program focused on linking active senior citizens and college students.

The Lyles Center still has mini-grants available to Fresno State students interested in launching or continuing a social entrepreneurship project. For more information on CGI U, visit lylescenter.com or contact John Mueller at jmueller@csufresno.edu.