Apps for Good, the UK-based technology education initiative, has announced the six winning teams in its 2013 Awards programme. Backed by leading companies in the high-tech industry, Apps for Good is aimed at assisting teachers to reduce the technical skills shortage, which has become clearly evident within the UK. In London alone, there were more than 80,000 new technology-based job openings in the past two years yet, last year, only 3,420 students took Computing A-level in the whole of England. Out of those, just 255 were girls. Apps for Good engages young people in app creation through an online platform and in-classroom training, unlocking the confidence and talent of the students through creative learning programmes, in which they can use new technologies to design products that can make a significant difference to their lives – or the lives of others.
Travelling from schools right across the UK, the 24 teams of students aged 11 to 18 came together to pitch in front of a panel of technology industry leaders* for their chance to work with some of London’s highest profile companies, and to design, create and bring their apps to market commercially. To prepare for their pitch, students were hosted by 12 start-ups from London’s Tech City. The experience gave the young entrepreneurs a real insight into how tech start-up organisations operate.
The winners of the Apps for Good 2013 Awards are as follows:
Category: Power to do More – Getting the most from your time
Sponsor: Dell
Winning app: ‘Farm Management’
Description: This app helps farmers to track and manage information about their cattle.
School: Wick High School, Caithness
Winning team: Three male students: John (15), Keiran (15), Ryan (14)
Category: Keep Moving – Doing things on the go
Sponsor: BlackBerry
Winning app: ‘Pitch Pals’
Description: Uses playful animal characters to make instrument tuning fun for children.
School: Stratford Girls’ Grammar School, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
Winning team: Four female students: Jamie (14), Emma (14), Kate (14), Annie (14)
Category: Saving, Spending and Giving – Making the most from your money
Sponsor: Barclaycard
Winning app: ‘Pocket Job’
Description: Helps teens find odd jobs in their local communities to earn pocket money.
School: The Abbey School, Reading, Berkshire
Winning team: Four female students: Chand (14), Enya (14), Erin (13), Abigail (14)
Category: Learning and Information – Helping others learn and using information for good
Sponsor: Thomson Reuters
Winning app: ‘Dog Log’
Description: Makes looking after your pet fun with points for good care.
School: Wick High School, Caithness
Winning team: Four female students: Caitlin (14), Beth (15), Rebecca (14), Jeri (14)
Category: Our World – Encouraging sustainable and healthy lifestyles
Sponsor: SAP
Winning app: ‘Supportive Schedule’
Description: Helps people with learning difficulties and Alzheimer’s Disease plan their daily routines.
School: Nelson Thomlinson School, Wigton, Cumbria
Winning team: Mixed team of one male and five female students: Lauren (15), Bryony (15), Natasha (15), Eilidh (15), Joshua (15), Tara (15)
Category: Connected Communities – Using technology to unite interests, ideas and good causes
Sponsor: TalkTalk
Winning app: ‘Story Wall’
Description: Collaborative story-telling app
School: Cockburn School, Leeds
Winning team: Mixed team of one male and three female students: Joe (13), Emma (13), Teigan (13), Holly (13)
Special category: People’s Choice Award
Winning app: ‘Social Bank’
Description: Makes saving fun for young people
School: Mount Grace School, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire
Winning team: Four male students: Jack (14), Arlo (14), Andrew (14), Adam (13)
Apps for Good is an open-source technology education movement run by not-for-profit organisation CDI Apps for Good, and focuses on developing the creative, business and technical skills of young people, particularly in low income and under-represented communities. Participants in the scheme work together in teams over several months to design exciting new apps for mobile phones, social platforms like Facebook, and the web, which solve problems in their communities. Once selected, the finalists are invited to pitch ‘Dragons’ Den-style’ in front of a formidable panel of experienced industry judges.
Apps for Good CEO, Iris Lapinski, commented, “The ultimate goal of Apps for Good is to radically change the way technology education is taught in schools. We are building the confidence of the students taking part and developing their creative, business and digital skills for the future. This will ensure that young people are not only users and recipients of technology, but creators and makers.
“We were stunned at the originality and creativity of the submissions this year, and delighted to see the entries coming from schools right across the UK, from Caithness down to the South Coast. The ingenious ideas emerging from these talented young people is truly inspiring, and we are encouraged by the rapidly increasing number of girls involved in the scheme, as technology has traditionally attracted more boys. We look forward to seeing their brilliant app concepts develop into commercial reality, and for all the finalists to continue their journey of solving problems they care about.”
The Apps for Good Awards 2013 Judges were: Joanna Shields, Sherry Coutu, John Hunt, Cassandra Harris, Neil Hutchinson, John Finch, Clive Punter, Georg Ell, Russ Shaw, Shakil Khan, Melissa Di Donato, Jose Marin, Jeremy Coller, Dido Harding, Rahul Chakkara, Alexandra Birtles, Ella Cockerell, Gregor Park, Ruth Buckingham, Bob Schukai, Karen McArthur, Pete Biggs, Ken Harley, Richard Nicholson, Vee Baker.
Awards sponsors were: TalkTalk, Barclaycard, BlackBerry, Dell, Thomson Reuters, SAP and supporters include: Nominet Trust, Nesta, Financial Times, Skillsmatter, Founders Forum, Tech City Insider, Dropwines. The ‘Hothouse’ companies for 2013 supporting students on their journey were: Songkick, Yammer, Decoded, AKQA, Mother, Unruly Media, Fluxx and ustwo, Fuerte International, Novoda, SapientNitro, Seren and We are Human/The Trampery.
About Apps for Good
Apps for Good is helping young people around the UK – and globally – to build their digital future. Launched in March 2010 as a pilot course in South London with just nine students, one educator, three experts and three apps, the Apps for Good movement is today transforming teaching methods and creating a new global generation of confident digital makers, problem-solvers and technology entrepreneurs – who, in turn, are producing ingenious apps that can change people’s lives.
Apps for Good’s roots lie in the favelas of Brazil, where CDI founder Rodrigo Baggio established the company’s computer-based learning programmes in the mid 1990s. His vision was to empower young people to use technology to change the world. Baggio’s spirit and ambition remain at the heart of the Apps for Good initiative – a truly global platform for creative learning through technology.
Apps for Good awarded the Google Global Impact Challenge 2013
On 3 June 2013, Apps for Good was announced as one of four British not-for-profit organisations to be awarded a major prize in the Google Global Impact Challenge 2013. As an Awardee, Apps for Good will receive £500,000 and assistance from Google to significantly expand the programme and invest in its online delivery platform, increasing efficiency and ultimately reaching more than 175,000 students across the UK.
Visit www.appsforgood.org for further information.