SmartFile, a market leader in business class file sharing and FTP hosting, announces the 2013 SmartFile Platform Bake-Off. The event is an open source programming and design contest offering $17,000 in cash prizes to student competitors from Indiana colleges.

Geared to drive awareness for both open source development and SmartFile’s new API, the ‘Bake-Off” also will promote collaboration between Indiana businesses and statewide academia.

“By combining an educational playground with a professional project, we are confident that potential will be realized, experience will transpire and students will have fun throughout the entire process,” said John Hurley, president of SmartFile. “Our goal is to foster development and to inspire students in Indiana to open their minds and think out-of-the-box, so we figured cash prizes, open source API integration, and a tech battleground would make the perfect ingredients for a new fashioned Bake-Off.”

A total of 50 two-person teams will compete for 50 days (Feb. 28 to April 18). The competition has three rounds of elimination, the first being a narrowing from 50 to 10 by SmartFile.

At the judging party on April 25, some of the top business minds in Indiana will then help in narrowing down the final three teams. The top three will then pitch their application and the audience will vote on the winner. SmartFile will award the winning team a check for $10,000. The second-place team wins $5,000 and third place takes home $2,000.

“SmartFile’s social media channels and the Bake-Off website will be updated throughout to the competition with valuable information to participants,” said Ben Timby, CTO, SmartFile. “Don’t miss out on the opportunity to put your creative and technical skills to work, gain real-world experience and win some serious cash!”

For more information about the 2013 SmartFile Platform Bake-Off, please visit www.smartfile.com/bakeoff.