Apps4Gaps 2015 Competition Results

The second Apps4Gaps competition has been a great success. Thanks and congratulations to everyone who took part and made this competition possible. The submissions received were diverse and creative. They offered some very engaging and fascinating usage of the open linked data provided by the National Open Data Portal data.gov.ie and the new application program interface release by the CSO http://www.cso.ie/webserviceclient/

The Apps4Gaps competition was launched by the Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English T.D., on 16th October 2014. Entries were received from the whole island of Ireland.  The best entries were those which achieved the aim of the competition by developing ideas and creating applications that provide innovative and fresh ways of exploiting the Open Data. These types of apps can in turn benefit society in such areas as transport, housing, planning, education, communications and health.

The apps were judged in two categories Concept Entry and Working App. The final judging panel chaired by Fiona O’ Riordan from the CSO consisted of:

Fiona O' Riordan

Assistant Principal,

IT Service Delivery,

Central Statistics Office

Ramesh KP

Software Engineer,

IBM Product Distribution Limited,

Galway

Soheila Dehghanzadeh

PhD student,

NUIG,

Galway

Kevin Healy

Statistician,

IT Web Development,

Central Statistics Office,

Cork

Arkadiusz Stasiewicz

Research Assistant,

Insight Centre for Data Analytics,

NUIG,

Galway

The panel had the difficult task to assess the entries and pick the winners. The results of the judges deliberations are given below:

Apps4Gaps 2015

Student Category Winners:

Best Working App (Student): €1,500 and also judged overall winner of the Alice Perry medal

 “Infinite Path”

Creators: Jack English, Harry Knapp, Robert Quille

Teacher: Lisa Kelly

School: Castletroy College, Newtown, Castletroy, Co. Limerick

Best Concept entry (Student) : €1,000

“The Energy Game”

Creators:  Rory O’Donoghue, Katie Flood, Darragh Buckley

Teacher: Domhnall O'Hanlon

School: CTYI, DCU, Dublin 9

Open Category Winners:

Best Working App (Open) : €1,500 

“Apps4stats” 

Creators:  David Morrisroe, Richard Morrisroe, Shane Sheehan

The Apps4Gaps prizes will be presented by the Minister of State for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damian English T.D, at an award ceremony in the Clock Tower, Dept of Education and Skills, Marlborough St., Dublin at 12 noon on Thursday 15th October 2015 during Maths Week.

Feedback from the judges on the competition

Below are the itemised judging criteria, which could help entrants improve future apps:

Data Use                                                                                                        

Ensure that the app uses at least one dataset from data.gov.ie or http://www.cso.ie/webserviceclient/

and link this data to other data. Reference the data sources you used.

Alignment with Project Goals                                                                       

The judges are looking for apps which use Open data from data.gov.ie or http://www.cso.ie/webserviceclient/ in a fresh or innovative way, as well as evidence that the group worked as a team to develop and present their app.

Functionality and Implementation                                                                

The app must be functional if it’s a working app, or it must be a good workable concept. It needs to demonstrate an appropriate use of the data. It must be user-friendly. It is helpful that the platform(s) the working app was tested/runs on is noted as part of the entry documentation. In relation to the video they should not be too long (5 minutes max) and should demonstrate to the audience the benefits, scalability and use case of the app.

Usefulness to students, teachers, schools and citizens of Ireland                 

The app should benefit society; it should benefit the designated target audience. It should be useful. It should be of use to students, teachers, schools and citizens of Ireland.

Feasibility                                                                                          

Basically if it’s a working app: Does it work? Or if it’s a concept entry: could it work? Could the app be used on different platforms? (mobile, tablet, PC). Is the app viable? Could it be released? Would people use it?

Creativity / Originality                                                                     

The app should be creative and appealing. It must be original. Preferably the app should answer an interesting question, highlight an issue or provide a new solution.

General Feedback from judges: 

Ensure that the rules are read before submitting an entry. The app must use open data from data.gov.ie or http://www.cso.ie/webserviceclient/

Mention the data sources used.

Thank you

Congratulations on your involvement in the Apps4Gaps competition. Thank you to all the people who participated, mentored, assisted, supported or were otherwise instrumental in making this competition such a great success.

Feedback welcome

Please send your feedback and comments on the Apps4Gaps competition to: apps4gaps@gmail.com