Appathon Contest to be Held Feb. 27, Students Encouraged to Compete

The Texas Tech University Appathon, a student mobile application-building contest, is scheduled for Feb. 27. There is still a week left for students to register for the competition and have a chance at winning prizes such as GoPro cameras, digital tablets and campus parking passes.

Hosted by the College of Media and Communication and the Edward E. Whitacre College of Engineering, this annual event will begin with a check-in for contestants in the engineering college’s Livermore Center at 6:40 p.m. Feb. 27 and will continue on for 24-hours straight to 7 p.m. the following day. Meals will be donated by food sponsors: Fazoli’s, Breakfast at 12 and Domino’s Pizza.

Allison Terry/The Hub@TTU

This year’s theme is “Where is…?” A keynote speaker will give a brief speech, detailing a problem he or she hopes an app can resolve.

“The contestants are encouraged to fill in the blank,” Randy Reddick, a journalism professor and a co-host of Appathon said, “but first and foremost, this is a Tech community thing. You let your imagination go.”

According to the Appathon website, apps created will be judged based on functionality, graphics and animation, accessibility, sustainability and coding.

“They look at functionally first,” Reddick said of the judging panel, “…is it useful? Is it accessible? Can we find our way around?”

Groups are encouraged to be comprised of three students, as prizes are only provided for three individuals in winning teams, but there may be more. Individuals entering will be allowed to join groups within the beginning “shout out” portion of the Appathon, during which students may introduce themselves and ask to become a part of a team.

Reddick explained groups in the past two years have succeeded when they contain a range of individuals with specific skill sets such as coding, designing and strategics.

“We’ve got people here who can do great stuff in Photoshop,” Reddick said. “You don’t have to be a coder, necessarily, to be a part of a team.”

See the Appathon website to register or find more information about the event at www.ttuappathon.com.