Jobs in the so-called STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — have grown three times faster than other fields in the U.S. Yet the number of graduates in STEM fields is not keeping pace with this growth, particularly among minorities, females and low-income students.
To spur student interest in STEM, Verizon and the Technology Student Association have issued the third Verizon Innovative App Challenge to middle- and high-school students across the country. This competitionchallenges student teams to develop an app concept that solves a community problem. As no coding experience is needed to enter, students from all backgrounds can collaborate to identify an issue they want to address and create an app that could solve it.
The national contest, the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, is accepting concept submissions for problem-solving apps from students nationwide until November 24th.
Winners of the contest will get:
- Free Samsung tablets
- $20,000 for their schools and
- A chance to build their app with MIT and have it in the Google Play Store
VIDEO CONTENT:
Winners from the 2013-2014 contest, a team of Latina 6th graders who had no interest in coding previously, came up with an idea for an app to help their blind classmate navigate school. They were even invited to the White House Science Fair for their app, Hello Navi, and the experience has changed the course of their lives.
