The North Carolina Business Committee for Education’s Ready, Set, App! challenge is a mobile app development competition for high school students sponsored by Lenovo. Student groups are asked to develop a mobile app using a mobile app development platform (e.g., MIT App Inventor, App Lab, etc.) to solve a problem in their community or school. Ready, Set, App! focuses on three primary pillars:
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Mobile App Development
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Professional and Personal Development
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Interpersonal and Soft Skills Development
Student groups are asked to adhere to the Devpost terms and conditions to be considered for the competition. If groups have any questions, please contact Program Manager Ciera Tucker at [email protected].
This competition is only open to North Carolina high school students who have previously registered for the competition through our site (https://ncbce.org/ready-set-app/) - other submitters will be automatically disqualified.
Requirements
RSA is designed in three phases:
- Phase 1: Registration
- Phase 2: Develop + Demo + Pitch Group Reflection
- Phase 3: Finalist Round
What to create: develop a mobile app using a mobile app development platform (e.g., MIT App Inventor, App Lab, etc.) to solve a problem in their community or school.
What to submit:
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App Demo & Pitch + Reflection Video (Max 6 minutes)
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Group Reflection Worksheet
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APK file
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Complete and enter information into all required fields of the submission form on hackathon site.
Projects are due on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at 11:59 PM.*
*Please note that the Devpost site says the submission period ends on March 20, 2025 at 12:15 am. Please notice that this time says AM, and it is simply to allow a 15-minute grace period for project submissions, as many people run into issues submitting their projects at the last minute. Projects are still due the night of Wednesday, March 19th, and you should try submitting earlier in the day to avoid any issues that tend to arise when waiting until the last minute.
*Please see the Phases tab for more details*
Prizes
Lenovo product valued up to $700
A brand new Lenovo product.
Lenovo product valued up to $200
A brand new Lenovo product.
Lenovo product valued up to $100
A brand new Lenovo product.
Finalist
The title of Finalist, meaning a top 8 team who presented at the Live Final Competition at Lenovo Headquarters in North Carolina.
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Ciera Tucker
Program Manager @ NCBCE
Steven Young
Chief Information Officer
Annabel Bello
Curriculum and Instruction Management Coordinator
Tannelaine Wilson
Moore County Schools/ Career Development/Special Populations Coordinator
Janani Priya Muthusami
Leader Web Developer
Janet Derr-Littman
Hickory City Schools
Summer Dail
Director of Instructional Technology
Karen Ondrick
Lenovo Retiree
Danielle Stilwell
Columbia Forest Products - HRD Recruitment Manager
Johnny Kim
Operations Manager
Jennifer Walker
Career Development Coordinator and STEM Educator, Chapel Hill High School
Amber Ostheim
High School Computer Science Teacher
Angela Martin
Staff UX Designer, UXD Software, Lenovo
Lepy Dolfi
Senior Sales Ops Specialist
Jonathan Rogers
North Carolina State University
Teross Young
Ahold Delhaize USA
Denise Driscoll
Lenovo
Paige Capps
Educator
Mick DiGrazia
N.C. Department of Information Technology
Scott Frye
Senior Manager Data Engineering / Press Ganey
Kiya Edwards
Sr Program Manager- NCDIT Office of Digital Opportunity
Erin Cook
eCommerce Category Manager
Christina Hutchinson
NCBCE/Building Bright Futures
Morgan Crawford
NC Business Committee for Education
Matt Meyer
Consultant, NCBCE
Morgan Ford
NCBCE
Anne Evangelista
DNCR
Anna Stiles
Transmission Engineer
Leslie Aguilar
STEM Teacher
Dave Roppo
Security Architect
Samantha Saunders
Program Manager, Hometown Strong
Anthony Martin
Teacher
Ashley Cooper
Transition Specialist
Emily McNeill
NCBCE
Evan Kim
Intern at NCBCE
Matthew McGovern
Industrial Engineer at Boeing
Annabel Bello
Curriculum and Instruction Management Coordinator
Sarah McManus
CTO NC Deaf and Blind Schools
Shannon Vickery
Director of Corporate Engagement, PBS North Carolina
Nachammai Annamalai
Intern at NCBCE
Angeline Walker
Wisdom Walker
Intern at NCBCE
Lindley Hille
Data Manager with Building Bright Futures
Rufo Tuddao
CTE teacher at Southeast Collegiate Prep Academy
Cristy Lin
Performance Engineer, Workstation Performance, Lenovo
Sherrie Ivey
Curriculum & Instruction Management Coordinator
Brenda Purnell
Lenovo
Ben Leising
Lenovo
Nicole Pesantes
Lenovo
Dayna McEachern
Lenovo
Lauren Black
Lenovo
Andy Hang
Lenovo
David Bailey
Lenovo
Gabe Oliveira
Lenovo
Brian Hardbarger
Lenovo
Victoria Maurer
Lenovo
Libby Richards
Lenovo
Judging Criteria
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Problem Relevance
Has the group chosen a problem that is demonstrated to be relevant to their community or today’s society? Is research/data provided to support the relevancy of the problem? -
Adequacy of Solution
Is the app developed sufficiently to meet the needs of the problem indicated? Is the app innovative in its approach to solving the problem, with a unique design different from similar apps? -
Quality of User Experience Design
Is the app visually appealing? Is the app’s design intuitive and easy to navigate? Does the app design address accessibility issues for disabled users? -
Quality of Pitch Video
Is the pitch video thought out, well-organized, and engaging? Does the video flow from the app pitch to the app demo well, and is the app’s purpose and function conveyed in a clear manner? -
Collaboration/ Team Development
Did all members participate in the video? Were the roles members played well defined? Did app development show the inclusion of multiple member's perspectives? Does the team reflection display personal and professional growth amongst the whole group? -
Reflection
Are all questions on the worksheet complete? Are all three questions addressed in the video? Do the answers showcase thought and effort were put into the app’s purpose and design? Were you able to understand the creator's reasoning behind the app? -
Presentation & Distinctiveness
Overall, did the team present their app well? Was the overall project thoughtful, with attention to detail in design, purpose, and function? Did they convey the app's purpose clearly while also portraying their app in a unique and engaging manner?
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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