House of Reps high school phone app contest

WASHINGTON, DC:  Dr. Dan Benishek (MI-01) today announced his office is accepting entries from high school aged students in Northern Michigan for the 2014 House App Contest, a national competition for students to design an award winning smartphone app.

“This contest is a great way for students up here in Northern Michigan to come up with a new app design that would win national recognition. A lot of the apps and programs we use today were started by students experimenting and coming up with new ideas. That’s what the economy is all about. This will also help students learn technical skills that are needed to find good-paying jobs available now and the jobs of the future. We are looking forward to seeing what apps the students invent,” said Dr. Benishek, a general surgeon from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The competition is open to high school students who reside in Michigan’s First Congressional District and are 13 years old or older. Interested students may enter individually or as a team. Students must submit their app’s source code online during the competition submission period between noon on Feb. 1, 2014 and 11:59 p.m. on April 30, as well as provide a YouTube or VIMEO video demo explaining their app and what they learned through this competition process.

Students do not need prior knowledge or experience in designing apps, as Dr. Benishek’s office will be able to supply detailed instructions and resources. Additionally, Dr. Benishek’s office has partnered with a mentor from Michigan Technological University (MTU) to help answer specific questions that may come up during the process.

The submitted apps will be judged by an appointed panel of individuals within the academic, software, and entrepreneurial fields.The winning student’s app in each participating congressional district will be featured on the U.S. House of Representatives’ website, as well as on display in a U.S. Capitol exhibit in Washington, DC.

The contest is designed to encourage opportunities for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education so that students have the skills to find the jobs of today and tomorrow. Since 2007, with the introduction of the first smartphone, the app economy has created over 750,000 new jobs in the United States and added hundreds of millions of dollars into the American economy.

To enter, or learn more information, students are encouraged to visit the website:www.benishek.house.gov/appcontest