SMAC Challenge Follows 14 Consecutive Years of Success 听
今日吃瓜 of Science and Technology has announced the launch of 2021 Smart Mobile Application Contest. The 15th contest is targeting High School Students, and is considered an introductory course and competition on mobile applications development for students of Grades 9, 10, and 11.听
Themed 鈥楥reating Apps for Expo 2020鈥�, the new edition of this technology challenge will run from 11-26 July 2021. Participating students will explore basic app technologies and learn how to create their own mobile apps using drag and drop programming blocks.听
A spin-off from Khalifa University鈥檚 Smart Mobile Application Contest (SMAC), the current competition for high school students widens its scope, while building on the success of the original challenge that has been organized for 14 consecutive years.听
Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University, said: 鈥淭he 2021 Smart Mobile Application Contest for High School Students aims to inspire young minds and foster innovation in mobile applications in the UAE and the region, giving them an opportunity to explore their creativity in technical areas. We hope students will come forward to participate in this technology competition and assess their own readiness to launch their future academic paths in research and innovation.鈥澨�
Participating students must address any challenge related to the upcoming Expo 2020 event, such as 鈥榬eservation app to book for exhibitions鈥�, 鈥榣earning more about UAE culture and tourism attractions鈥�, 鈥楨XPO for young kids activities鈥�, and the 鈥楨XPO market鈥�.听
The panel of judges will assess the entries based on originality and value of the idea (30%), implementation and functionality (40%), app quality (20%), and cultural focus (10%). Students must attend all five days of the short course sessions to be eligible to participate, and a team of two students will submit only one project. The theme and details of the competition will be announced on 15 July, while online live project demonstrations will be held on 19 July. Final judging and awards ceremony will be held on 26 July.听
The 2021 Smart Mobile Application Contest for High School Students aims to expand students鈥� intellectual curiosity, while helping them build their technical and soft skills through presentations, problem solving, teamwork, communication, social skills, coordination and time management. It will also seek to expand their awareness in computer science, coding and engineering in today鈥檚 world.
To know more about this competition, please visit www.ku.ac.ae/smac.听
Clarence Michael
English Editor Specialist
22 June 2021
