BU takes part in App-a-thon Guinness World Record attempt

A world record attempt to get as many people as possible creating and Android app has taken place at Bournemouth University.

The App-a-thon event was organised by BCSWomen, a part of the Chartered Institute for IT, in collaboration with 30 institutions across the UK, all hoping to be a part of the Guinness World Record attempt.

Over 1,000 people took part in the event across the UK, with the Bournemouth University team helping 41 people on the day to programme an Android app.

Suzy Atfield-Cutts, a Computing First Year Tutor at Bournemouth University and organiser of the BU portion of the record attempt, said, “It was a brilliant and amazing day and we met some lovely people. There were some very young children there and they were very well behaved and very keen to build apps.

“It was great to have a mix of past students now with families, current students, as well as people and families we’ve never met before – we all came together and had so much fun.”

It is not yet known if the world record was achieved, with work still going on to count and check each applicant to ensure that the record has been broken.

As well as attempting to break a record, the event also aimed at enthusing young people towards a career in IT.

Suzy Atfield-Cutts continued, “I know I can be enthusiastic about programming, it is my job, but it’s rare to be in a room full of people who are not all our students who are just as keen – it was really exciting and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”