Create a mobile app aimed at building a richer and stronger digital ecosystem and be a winner of the first AT&T Philippines Mobile App Developers’ Day to be held on December 6 and 7 at the A SPACE Manila, 110 Legazpi Street, Legazpi Village, Makati City.
To qualify, however, participants and apps must meet the requirements and criteria set by the organizing committee, one of which is the app must be developed within 24 hours.
The mobile app development competition is open to all university students and graduates, and those working in the technology sector or any innovators with ideas about the event’s theme “Smart City and Community Involvement.”
The competition requires the following: for the smart city element, participants must develop an app that can handle the city’s sustainability and/or encourage citizen participation, and benefit cities in the Philippines. For community involvement, the app must address an issue that impacts the community in the Philippines, and how this can make a potential positive impact to the community.
The participants, who are expected to reach more than 100 in the Philippines, are allowed to use the following platforms in their mobile apps: iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Sambian.
Apart from these, a three-minute presentation of participating teams after the 24-hour competition is to be conducted. The judges will then choose the first, second and third prize winners.
For the duration of the event, participants will be given access to AT&T’s Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), which they can quickly plug into their apps for added functionality, such as speech-to-text.
Besides, AT&T’s and other partners’ mentors will be on hand to lend assistance where needed, transferring technology know-how to the local innovators.
The event’s judges will comprise of technical experts and consultants from AT&T, A SPACE, Golden Gate Ventures and Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA).
The theme “Smart City and Community Involvement” presents a great opportunity for the Philippines and SE Asia in general as the ongoing urban migration demands that cities and citizens around the world take a fresh approach to urban living. As a nation that has embraced mobile communications and social media more rapidly and enthusiastically than most, the possibilities for life in a smart, connected city are very exciting.
“The concept of Smart City is growing across the region, and mobile applications are an integral part of that vision. We look at ways a city can be run more efficiently and better engage its citizens,” said Jake E. Jennings, Executive Director of International and Regulatory Affairs at AT&T. “The ultimate goal is to create a better – happier, safer, more comfortable – place to live and work in.”
Jennings also said the theme is universal. “It’s relevant anywhere.”
When asked to rate or describe the Filipino’s talent for mobile app development, Jennings had this to say, “We continue to be amazed by the agility and talent of developers and technology innovation in ASEAN, including the Philippines. We have already held two developers’ day events in Malaysia, and the response has been extremely positive.”
