The awards ceremony of the mobile apps development contest “View, Use, Develop!” took place.
As we reported earlier, Data Processing Center (DPC) of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies (MTCHT) announced a mobile apps development contest “View, Use, Develop!” by using Open Government Data on November 13.
The purpose of the contest was to develop new mobile applications using data from the Open Government Data Portal of the Republic of Azerbaijan (data.gov.az), ensure convenient use of open government data, provide support to social-oriented and innovative ideas and promote startup projects.
According to the terms, the participants can participate in the contest individually or in teams. The participants were required to use at least one piece of data available on the Open Government Data Portal when developing an application.
11 groups and 8 individuals participated in the contest with their mobile applications. The mobile applications submitted to the contest were evaluated by the jury consisting of specialists from Data Processing Center of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, and High Tech Park LLC under MTCHT, as well as companies Best Comp Group and Microsoft. The jury evaluated the mobile applications on the basis of criteria such as social significance, functionality, completeness, design and content.
It should be noted that the contestants used mostly the open government data of the State Statistical Committee, Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Culture and Tourism for developing their mobile applications.
Awards ceremony took place within the framework of Bakutel exhibition, on December 6, 2017 - the professional holiday of communications workers. By the decision of the jury, team Plus Group took the 1st place, team The Dev Squad - 2nd place, team No Name - 3 rd place. The winners of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places received cash prizes from DPC in the amount of AZN 2000, AZN 1500 and AZN1000, respectively. The winners were also awarded cups and diplomas. In addition, all participants were presented with e-signature certificates. Within the Microsoft BizSpark project, all the students participating in the contest were given an opportunity to use desktop software, server and cloud solutions from Microsoft. The winners of the 1st and 2nd places will also be given the opportunity to use an office in the incubation center of High Tech Park free of charge for 6 months.
The guests participating in the event stressed that the stage of development of the open data industry began in Azerbaijan. It was also noted that in recent years the interest of young people in this sphere has increased, and such contests and projects motivate young people even more. In the end, photos were taken with the winners on this occasion.