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ICT Innovation Application Challenge

ICT Innovation Application Challenge

Call for Applications for the 1st ITU ICT Innovation Application Challenge
 
ICT innovation is a key element to spur growth in the economic crisis. ICT innovation will be a game-changer in enabling emerging economies to sustain their economic growth in the future. The ICT Innovation Application application challenge is part of ITU’s efforts to tap the power and interoperability of ICTs in promoting sustainable prosperity and businesses in emerging economies by developing solutions to provide accessibility to the underserved and the unreached.
 
The Challenge called for submission of innovative ICT applications taking full advantage of mobile phones, mobile Internet access, and social media tools to transform inclusion, citizen participation, and transparency in the following areas:-
  • Innovative mobile application services (e.g mobile health, mobile payments, etc).
  • e-Education
  • e-Government
  • Intelligent Transport Systems.

Participants were invited to submit a working application and a concept paper falling under one of the above mentioned areas. This ITU ICT Innovation Application Challenge was launched on 22 November 2012 during the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) in Dubai.

Awards

A Jury of high-level experts selected and awarded the best apps:

Who can participate?

The Challenge is open to participants from ITU Member States. Participants may be individuals, legally established entities (profit, non-profit, academic) and public sector organizations, though not all are eligible for the cash prize. Participants would be responsible for compliance with legal requirements of their country. Staff of ITU and of the sponsor(s) of this Challenge as well as members of the jury are not eligible to participate in this Challenge.
  • Individuals must be of age of majority in their country at the time of registration. Individuals may form teams and submit entries on behalf of their teams. All individuals who join teams must meet the eligibility requirements.
  • Organizations must be legally established entities (profit, non-profit, academic) or public sector organizations in their respective countries.​

Award Category

  • Best App - Individual/SME (small and medium enterprise) with a cash prize of USD 5,000
  • Best App Corporate (no cash prize)
  • Honourable mentions - Individual/SME (no cash prize)
  • Honourable mentions Corporate (no cash prize)​
The winners of the Challenge will be contacted in April, while the results of the Challenge will be publicly announced during an event which will take place in Geneva, on World Information Society Day, that is, 17 May 2013. The winners will be invited to this event to showcase their application.​

Registration

Participants must register on-line before submitting their application. The on-line registration period will run from 16:00 hours CET (Central European Time), 22 November 2012 until 16:00 hours CET, 22 January 2013. Deadline for registration has been extended to 12 February 2013. 

​Following the registration, a registration ID and a work ID, that, must be included in the submission, a description form as well as information on the FTP area (see Article 7 of Rules) will be sent by ITU to the registered participant by email.
 
To register, please click the category that your entry falls in (See Rules, Article 3)
1. Individual/SME (small and medium enterprise): Individuals and organizations (profit, non-profit) with fewer than 50 employees.
1-1. Individual
2. Corporate: Public sector organizations of any size, and legally established entities (profit, non-profit, academic) with 50 or more employees.
2-1. Public sector organizations of any size
2-2. Entities with 50 or more employees

Submission

All submissions must be made in English in electronic format to ITU through its FTP area. Only submissions to this FTP area will be accepted. The submission period will run from 16:00 hours CET, 28 January 2013 until 16:00 hours CET, 12 March 2013. ​A submission must be comprised of:
  1. a software application,
  2. screenshots in “.ppt” or “.pdf” format illustrating the application’s proposed features and functions,
  3. a short video in WMV format lasting a maximum of five minutes that demonstrates how the application runs,
  4. a description of the application, including a detailed concept Paper (maximum of 3,000 words) describing how the submitted application would improve the quality of life of people in developing countries, including a section on the new areas for standardization which this application could give rise to.​
​ITU will acknowledge the receipt of the submission by e-mail.