Students create digital tools to solve problems

Apps for Good Scotland - Edinburgh - 23/02/18

On February 23rd students from across Scotland; Wick High School, Dunoon Grammar and Drumchapel High School gathered in Edinburgh to showcase their tech for good products to industry professionals. Students were meeting the experts to ask for feedback and advice on how to take their projects to the next level. They also had the opportunity to attend exciting workshops run by volunteers from Skyscanner, Social Investment Scotland and Digital Xtra Fund.

As part of the Apps for Good course delivered by their teachers these teams of young people have been working together to create apps and IoT products to tackle the problems and issues that matter most to them. Problems the students tackled with the designs they showcased in Edinburgh included global hunger, cycling safety, homelessness, recycling, bad posture, food safety, smart cupboards and electrical safety.

The day started with students prepping their pitches in the marketplace. It was evident a lot of work had been put into preparing the boards which were used to showcase their work. The extent of background research was extremely strong; with students demonstrating a deep understanding of why it was important to solve the problem they were tackling. There was also strong demonstrations of the code they had been working on to create their prototypes.

Once guests started to arrive the marketplace was buzzing with excited students trying to get the attendees votes in the People’s Choice Award. Many guests found it tough to pick just one project to vote for as the quality of work on display was so high. The winning team were ‘Med Note’ from Dunoon Grammar School who’s IoT pill box sends push notifications to your phone to remind you to take your medication. Second prize was given to students from the ‘Step Off’ team; their product alerts you if you’ve left any electricals switched on when you leave the house. Third prize was for the impressive ‘Light Bike’ which ensures safety for cyclists and even lets them use indicators to show their direction.

The presentation of the People’s Choice Awards was by last year’s students from ‘Safe Step’ and ‘Sunhat’. Last year ‘Safe Step’ went on to win the IoT category at the national awards and although ‘Sunhat’ didn’t make it to the finals, Annie from the team was keen to tell students not winning isn’t the end and they should continue to pursue their idea like she has.  It was then time for a quick lunch break before the afternoon of workshops began.

During the workshops students got the opportunity to learn how to sell and market their idea, how to build a social business and how to manage usability testing. They learnt lots to stand them in good stead for pitching for a finalist place in the national competition. Students said they were happy they got to use their creativity in these workshops and that the activities helped them to improve on working together as part of a team. One of the students’ feedback of the day was that the event “put me in the mindset that I can do a lot more than I thought I could”

Apps for Good Head of Education and Events Natalie said “Seeing the innovative ideas the students were showcasing was inspirational and made me realise the future is very safe in the hands of these young people. It was great to see so many students from across Scotland excited about the potential technology has to make a positive impact on society.”

The next generation of Scottish entrepreneurs were an inspiration to everyone in attendance at the event as the quality of the work from these young teenagers was exceptional. Watch this space!

Apps for Good North West - Manchester - 20/04/2018

Teenage entrepreneurs shone at our competition in Manchester. The North West’s next generation of tech entrepreneurs proved they are ahead of the game with their innovative IoT and app designs.

On Friday 20th April students from across the North West gathered in Manchester to pitch their outstanding tech for good products to a panel of industry professionals. They were in tough competition with one another when pitching in front of the dragons, as well as trying to win votes from the public for the People’s Choice Prize. The event, supported by tech company EPAM, was an exciting celebration of the Apps for Good project which aims to close the national digital skills gap and prepare young people for the future of work. During the course, students learn coding as well as other crucial entrepreneurial and soft skills which are essential for the next generation to thrive in the workplace.

Over the past few months, the teams of young people have been working hard to create apps and tech products which tackle the problems and issues that matter most to them. Problems the students tackled with the designs they showcased at the event included cyber security, mental health, online bullying and fitness.

The winners of the People’s Choice Award were from Brighouse High School with their website and app which educate young people about the the safety of their data online. Following the dragons den session the winners of the Tech prize were a team from Essa Academy with their outstanding prototype ‘iProtect’. The winners of the Innovation prize were also a team from Essa with their creative app ‘Aspire’. The quality of the work was outstanding and it was a tough call for the dragons to make a decision.

EPAM, a global provider of digital platform engineering and product development services, recently became an Apps for Good partner and during the event, their employees shared their expertise and advised the students on their projects. EPAM’s eKids programme, which is currently active in 14 countries including the UK, encourages thousands of young children to explore software engineering and coding through mentoring relationships with their employees and MIT’s Scratch programme. Gordon, Lead Business Analyst and UK Co-ordinator for Corporate and Social Responsibility, EPAM said “Young people today need to be exposed to different career opportunities available in the tech industry. Tech skills, like coding and software development, set children up for success in the tech space, and also build problem-solving and communication skills needed in every career. We’re proud to partner with Apps for Good and are committed to building the future of the IT industry workforce through social innovation programs like this event in Manchester.”

Following their involvement in the Manchester event students will now have the opportunity to enter their digital products into the Apps for Good national competition. There they will have the unique chance to visit London based tech companies and pitch to panels of industry professionals with the potential to receive mentorship to take their products even further.

Apps for Good UK Managing Director Heather said “the innovative ideas the students showcased were inspirational and made me realise the future is very safe in the hands of these young people. It was great to see so many students from across the North West excited about the potential technology has to make a positive impact on society.”

The next generation of entrepreneurs were an inspiration to everyone in attendance at the event as the quality of the work from these young teenagers was exceptional.