Verizon Issues Call to Georgia Students for the Best Problem-Solving App Ideas

Fifth Annual Verizon Innovative Learning App Challenge Opens for New Submissions; Deadline is Nov. 18

The Verizon Innovative Learning app challenge – the no-coding-skills-needed contest that gives middle and high school students a chance to bring their problem-solving app ideas to life – is now accepting new app ideas for the 2016-2017 competition.

Winning student teams will be chosen from each state, earning a $5,000 grant for their school or organization and free tablets for each team member. Then the Best In State teams will compete for the ultimate prizes: an additional $15,000 for their organizations, and chance to turn their app ideas into real, working smartphone apps that will be made available for download.

Now in its fifth year, thousands of students across the U.S. have participated in the app challenge - gathering teams, dreaming up ideas, and creating concepts for mobile apps that could solve problems in their schools and communities.

Past winners have been featured at the White House Science Fair and even gone on to sell their completed apps for cash.

Students can now submit ideas from through Nov. 18, 2016, and the winners will be named in January and February 2017. A metro Atlanta team (Johns Creek High School) team was among the nine national winners of the 2015-16 contest. The Johns Creek High School team -- Stephen Hahn, Sneha Iyer, Preeti Iyer, Jacob Abramow, Avery Paul and Tiffany Hsieh -- owns the full rights to their app and hope that it will be used by their classmates to arrange transportation from after-school events quickly and easily.

For more information on how to register for the Verizon Innovative Learning app challenge, or to download the completed apps, visit www.verizon.com/appchallenge. Follow us on Twitter (@VerizonGiving) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/verizonfoundation).

The app challenge, part of Verizon Innovative Learning, was developed to give all students, regardless of their technology experience or access to technology, a chance to make a difference, and to help spark their interest in STEM subjects and careers.

Over the past 10 years, for example, STEM jobs have grown three times faster than other jobs. STEM jobs are expected to grow by 1 million by 2022 to a total of more than 9 million jobs.

The app challenge provides hands-on, experiential learning that can equip students with the in-demand skills of the future and empower them to envision brighter futures for themselves as business owners, app inventors, coders, technology professionals and more.

The 2016-17 Verizon Innovative Learning app challenge is open for new submission through Nov. 18, 2016.