SDSU to hold statewide student app competition

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Sept. 18, 2014 – South Dakota State University is encouraging all South Dakota college students to participate in the university’s upcoming student app development contest.

Sponsored by Vision Brookings, with $5,000 in prize money awarded to the winners, the contest will provide college students an opportunity to showcase their technical, entrepreneurial and innovative skills. Students are invited to submit their independently developed mobile app for consideration. The app will be judged on the quality of the idea, its implementation and overall effectiveness.

Teams must have at least one member enrolled in a South Dakota college or university. Student teams have until 5 p.m. April 1, 2015, to develop and submit their applications. The initial judging round takes place the week starting April 6. The finals are April 17. Time and location will be announced later.

“The competition will show what our students are capable of doing,” said William Aylor, assistant vice president of SDSU’s Office of the Technology Transfer Office and Commercialization and coordinator of the contest. “It will enable local businesses to look at students for possible tech positions or to find students to fulfill an app need they might have.”

An app can be any working Web-based or native software application for computing on phones, tablets and other mobile devices. An abstract detailing the application, the need it serves and the audience for which it is intended must be included with each submission.

In addition, the app must include only material that is owned by the developer or that has appropriately documented permission from the copyright/trademark owner for use.

For additional information, contact Aylor at (605) 688-4752.

About South Dakota State University

Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from six different colleges representing more than 175 majors, minors and specializations. The institution also offers 29 master’s degree programs, 15 Ph.D. and two professional programs.

The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through SDSU Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state.