By Chris Johnston | Fundraising & Partnerships Executive
The Apps for Good Awards 2019
June saw us kick off our 8th annual Apps for Good Awards. This year we were hosted by CodeNode, Skillsmatter giving us a vibrant on-brand tech-focused backdrop to an inspiring day.
These awards gave young tech entrepreneurs a chance to celebrate and showcase their work our corporate partners and the general public. The select few finalists were picked from the 28,000 students enrolled in our courses in App Development, Machine Learning and the Internet of Things. There were many exciting student teams selected as finalists this year, creating products aimed at tackling a range of issues including:
Award winners were selected by our category sponsors (The LEGO Group, SAP, Spotify, BNY Mellon, Eight Roads, & Vodafone) the finalists pitched their work and were given feedback by 'Dragons' in dedicated pitching sessions. Prior to these sessions each of the finalists got to spend some time in the offices of their category partner so they could practice their presentations and ask any burning questions they may have had. After the pitches, the dragons met and decided who they think had come up with the most innovative solution.
The students also had the opportunity to showcase their work in the awards marketplace and the AfG online platform, where their goal was to win votes in our Vodafone supported People’s Choice Award. Over 5000 people voted globally this year but only one team could take the prestigious award.
Seeing the variety of issues that students addressed with their innovative products really sums up what Apps for Good is all about, getting the students to think of solutions to problems affecting their community while also opening up the career and educational pathways they may never have previously considered.
Going into the 2019/2020 academic year we aim to continue to inspire and engage as many young people as possible with our content. Following on from the successful pilot of our Machine Learning course, Apps for Good continues to look for ways to innovate and make our courses as attractive as possible. Because of this at the beginning of the 2019/2020 academic year Apps for Good will launch an exciting new offer – Machine Learning in a Day. Much like Design an App in a Day, this workshop will take students from concept to creation but with a real focus on the technical, moral and ethical elements of Machine Learning and AI. By the end of the session student teams will have created and presented a basic Machine Learning algorithm using drag and drop code supported by industry experts.
There is so much to look forward to for the year ahead. We can’t wait to see our students, teachers, and experts in action from September!
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