What is The App Challenge?
The App Challenge is a competition open to all registered University of York students, with the aim of coming up with ideas for the next killer app. Students attend a series of boot camps so as to guide them with various aspects of app creation, from idea generation, decisions on what platforms to create your app for, the various functionalities that can be integrated into apps as well as the more commercial side of bringing the app to market. The event is open to all disciplines so as to encourage interest in all aspects of the app creation process, not just the development stages. The winners of the competition will see their app prototyped by The Distance and will be offered the opportunity to attend a new multi-day iPhone development course that is being introduced by the University.
Where are we right now?
So far the event had been a fantastic success, with 12 teams registering to take part! Feedback so far has been great, with one student even saying:
It’s a great stepping stone into the industry
All of the bootcamps and workshops for the 2011-2012 competition have now been complete, so it is now up to the teams to go away and put together their ideas in the form of a presentation package. The teams will be judged on their ideas, research/analysis, commercialisation, design/UI and delivery/promotion. Presentation packages need to be in by 11th January 2011 and will be judged on 18th January 2011.
Why are we doing The App Challenge?
We at The Distance along with our friends at Yatterbox are seeing how rapidly the mobile applications industry is growing, and the pace at which things are changing. Having our office on the University of York campus is fantastic, we have the opportunity to interact with a wealth of small businesses on numerous projects, and the environment is a breeding ground for new ideas. With the mobile applications industry still in its infancy and growing fast there are not enough developers or enough people seriously considering careers in the industry. This is where The App Challenge comes in, the aim of the competition is to focus bright and creative minds on the challenge of creating a successful app, and as a result hopefully open their eyes to the vast array of career opportunities in the industry. As Anthony Main (our Mobile Director) said:
We aim to encourage growth and interest in the mobile app industry starting with students at the University of York, educating students in all areas of app development apart from the geeky stuff.
How can I get involved?
The 2011-2012 competition is now closed to new entries, but don’t fret as due to the success and level of interest in the first challenge we plan to carry out many more. New information will be posted here so keep popping back, in the meantime follow us on Facebook!