The hackathon is indicative of a broader effort by Stellantis to leverage software to transform the driving experience and keep features flowing into vehicles via over-the-air updates. CEO Carlos Tavares has expressed a desire for Stellantis to be a nimble “automotive tech company” instead of a “dinosaur” that is slow to adapt.
Some students at the hackathon could end up helping Stellantis reach that goal. Several were offered jobs with the company.
“We were able to see how they worked,” Cross said. “It was really the best interview we could ever give someone because we’re seeing them do the work that we would want to bring them in to do. So, in that regard, we were successful and able to evaluate them on top of them having a lot of fun and us having a cool output from the event.”