About
About Ascend
Ascend is built to help organizations run competitions that feel clean, fair, and scalable — from the first announcement to the final winners.
Organizer-first
Publish event pages, manage registrations, teams, submissions, and judging — without spreadsheets.
Participant-friendly
Clear deadlines, tracks, and rules — plus an account dashboard for teams + submissions.
Enterprise-ready
Role-based access, audit logs, and safe data scoping per org and event.
Mission alignment
Ascend is built with the belief that access to technology and STEM opportunity should be equitable. We’re proud to partner with organizations like Digital Revolution that push this mission forward.
Mission Statement
Democracy and egalitarian values cannot be achieved and maintained if countries or communities are mere spectators and renters of the digital world.
Meet the founder
Frustraited at the choas of oragnizing hackathon and ideathon, events, Ramon saw a need for a platform that would help organizations run competitions that feel clean, fair, and scalable — from the first announcement to the final winners. So in this fractured landscape where there are no good options for an all in one platform, he decided to build his own.
Ramon McDargh-Mitchell
Founder, technology advocate, and digital rights activist
What we optimize for
Organizer‑first workflows, participant clarity, and safe admin controls—so your event feels clean at every step.
Impact areas we support
Through partnerships and community programs, Ascend supports efforts that expand access to the digital world and unlock STEM pathways.
Digital Infrastructure Access
Ensuring communities have reliable internet connectivity and modern computing resources
STEM connection: Foundation for accessing online STEM courses, research databases, and coding platforms
Digital Literacy Programs
Teaching essential computer skills and internet safety to underserved populations
STEM connection: Building prerequisite skills for STEM education and technology career pathways
STEM Education Pathways
Creating bridges to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics opportunities
STEM connection: Coding bootcamps, online engineering courses, data science workshops, and tech mentorship
Community Data Sovereignty
Empowering local communities to own and control their digital infrastructure
STEM connection: Training local technicians, network administrators, and cybersecurity professionals
Values & focus
Ascend isn’t a donation organization — we build product and partner with mission-aligned groups. This section summarizes our direction and what we optimize for.
Founded
2025
Communities
Growing daily
Focus
Digital equity, democratic access, and STEM opportunity expansion
Values
Digital Equity
Everyone deserves equal access to digital tools, opportunities, and STEM education pathways
Community Ownership
Local communities should control their digital infrastructure and technology education programs
Transparent Impact
100% of donations and 50% of proceeds from the shop directly fund digital divide and STEM accessibility initiatives
Democratic Values
Technology should strengthen democratic participation and create inclusive pathways to STEM careers
Educational Opportunity
Digital access should unlock doors to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for all
Built for real teams
Student orgs and campus competitions
Research labs and innovation programs
Sponsor-backed challenges and prize tracks
Community hackathons and weekend builds
Digital equity, democratic access, and STEM opportunity expansion
Initiatives & partnerships
Work we support and the kinds of partners we collaborate with to expand access and opportunity.
Initiatives
Digital Democracy Project
Ensuring communities can participate fully in digital civic life
STEM Bridge Program
Creating pathways from digital literacy to technology careers
Community Tech Hubs
Establishing local centers for digital learning and STEM education
Open Source Education
Developing freely accessible STEM curricula and coding resources
Partnerships
Educational
Universities, community colleges, and coding bootcamps
Corporate
Technology companies providing resources and internship opportunities
Nonprofit
Organizations focused on educational equity and community development
Government
Agencies working on digital inclusion and workforce development