About IEEEmadC
To what degree can IEEE students use mobile application technology to supplement the activities, participation and lives of IEEE members and local societies around the world? To better answer this question, some IEEE volunteers from Croatia teamed up with IEEE members from other regions to launch IEEEmadC, a first-of-its-kind contest and an opportunity for student members to prove their talent with mobile app development. IEEEmadC (Mobile Application Development Contest) is a global competition designed to find and hatch the best mobile apps that help IEEE and its members to enhance the overall scope of working and the influence created out of it.
IEEEmadC embraces new apps that advance your experience as an IEEE member by connecting people and making IEEE more fun, enthusiastic and workable. IEEEmadC first started in 2013 as a student branch project and accelerated quickly into a regional contest in 2014. Its popularity and appreciation made it a global contest among IEEE’s ten regions in 2015. In 2016, organizers expect IEEEmadC to break participation records from past years. One of our goals this year is to foster greater participation among IEEE members from Regions 1 through Region 6 (U.S. members).
Contest Stages
IEEEmadC runs through a three-stage, 19-week process. The first stage is the Education and Idea stage, where concepts are submitted to the contest portal. During the first stage, the entries are narrowed, based on need and promising factors, to be designed into a complete mobile app.
IEEEmadC is backed by the help of more than 100 student members who serve as ambassadors in their respective student branches and sections to promote participation in the contest. It is the ambassadors who kindle the fire among students to participate by organizing different workshops and sessions on mobile app development, and by inviting experts in the field to guide students and better prepare them for the contest. The selected ideas from stage one are designed into complete mobile apps during the second stage, and a complete review and evaluation is performed by panel of experts in third stage ” the judging stage.
During the final stage, invited experts on mobile app development technology carefully observe and evaluate the mobile apps based on their usefulness, availability, UI design and UX experience. Contest winners receive handsome cash prizes and awards from the IEEE Computer Society.
In 2014, IEEEmadC received around 81 ideas, 28 of which were successfully translated into complete, workable apps. In 2015, some 133 ideas were submitted initially, from which 48 were selected to be transformed into completed mobile apps. What distinguishes IEEEmadC from other competitions of this sort is its target audience and areas of application development. IEEEmadC is a contest for IEEE student members, so we require students to focus on the things that IEEE stands for ” Advancing Technology for Humanity ” so the application focus areas are mostly technological, humanitarian or scientific.
In 2015, a team named “Munch” from the Rowan University IEEE student branch (Glassboro, N.J., U.S., Region 2), consisting of team members Nick Felker and Christopher Frederickson, created an app called Munch, which won Best Design App Award in madC 2015. The app received huge traction and attention and was widely appreciated. The Munch app is an intelligent nutrition tracker that examines your diet, and gives food recommendations based on micro and macronutrient deficiencies. The app utilizes the USDA’s food configuration database of more than 8,000 food items and tracks 40 different things about the foods you eat.
Download Munch and some of the other winning apps from previous year competitions on Google app store.
Wanted: Contest Ambassadors
Ambassadors are the representatives who front the madC contest in their student branches and sections. IEEEmadC team is currently looking for students from Regions 1-6 to be program ambassadors within their student branches or sections. If you are interested, contact madC the team at ieeemadc@ieee.org
Top performing ambassadors will be rewarded with IEEEmadC merchandise and a certificate of appreciation. Consistent performers may be offered leadership positions within the IEEEmadC core team. All participating ambassadors receive a certificate of appreciation. Last year, five IEEEmadC ambassadors received Merwin Scholarships (worth $1000 USD) from the IEEE Computer Society.
Be a Mentor
IEEEmadC isn’t just for student members. IEEE members can participate as a team mentor, whether you’re a young professional or senior member. Organize a session on the competition process or simply motivate your students and guide them through app designing and developing. Even if you haven’t worked on apps before, you can check out our Facebook page for dozen of resources.
2016 Program
If interested in participating as an contest entrant, a program ambassador or as a team mentor, don’t delay! This year’s competition will, as always, progress through the three stages. Stage 1, Education and Ideas, has already begun, but time remains to submit your entries.
See the 2016 deadlines below:
Stage 1 – Education and Idea Stage: 15 February 2016 (All ideas must be submitted before 15 April 2016. Judges will select and approve the ideas that will be developed in Stage 2.)
Stage 2 – Development Stage: 15 April 2016
Stage 3 – Judging Stage: 1 June 2016 Results
Announcement of winners: 20 June 2016
Questions and queries about the program may be directed to ieeemadc@ieee.org. Or find us at: https://www.ieeemadc.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/IEEEmadC
