Verizon Innovation Challenge Relies on Skild Online Contest Software

Skild is proud to provide the online contest management behind Verizon’s FreeBee Perks Game Online Innovation Challenge! The competition is focused on assisting people who play, develop, and publish games as they come up with innovative ways to make games even more fun and rewarding by giving out free mobile data to users.

The contest is underway now, with applications being accepted through June 30, 2017. You can learn more or sign up here.

How the Challenge Works

Verizon is in search of innovative game play ideas that will help them attract, engage, and retain users. The goal is to improve the user experience and reward player achievements with free mobile data. Participants must answer the competition’s overall question: How might you reward player achievements in your game play with free data? Read more from this blog. http://bit.ly/2ryVYnY

University of Akron Hosts Its First Hackathon

It goes without saying that at Skild, we love a good hackathon. And if it’s the first time an organization has held a hackathon, that’s even better. As our competition management platform is used to schedule hackathons all over the country, we’ve got a direct connection to what creative hackers everywhere are up to. And we love seeing the amazing ideas they come up with.

Well Done, HAkron!

The group behind the UA hackathon calls itself HAkron. It’s made up of 10 UA students who major in electrical engineering, computer science, and computer engineering. They were responsible for all the legwork involved in the event. That included everything from recruiting sponsors to organizing a panel of judges to arranging for food to securing sleeping areas. No small feat for busy college students! Read more from this blog. http://bit.ly/2qfogjy

Winners Announced in HUD Innovation Competition

In order to encourage research, collaboration, and creativity in affordable housing and community development, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sponsors an annual innovation competition. By initiating and funding this competition, HUD hopes to encourage and support experts in fields like architecture, planning, policy, and finance as they strive to improve affordable and sustainable housing for low- and moderate-income Americans.

Called the Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design and Planning Competition, the fourth annual edition took place this year. It involved a real-world scenario that required competitors to provide creative ideas for addressing economic, social, environmental, and construction issues in redeveloping Woodhill Homes, a 478-unit multifamily property owned and operated by the Cuyahoga County Ohio Metropolitan Housing Authority. Read more from this blog. http://bit.ly/2qf3mB7

2017 Drucker Prize is Driven by the Skild Contest Management System

The Drucker Institute is an organization based at Claremont Graduate University. Its mission is “strengthening organizations to strengthen society.” Their work is based on the timeless wisdom of Peter Drucker, an Austrian-born American management expert, author, and educator who is widely considered to be “the founder of modern management.” The Institute has announced the opening of the 2017 Drucker Prize and is encouraging U.S.-based nonprofits to apply. The competition, which comes with a $100,000 cash award, is being driven by the Skild contest management system.

You can find the prize application on the Drucker Institute website, http://www.Drucker.Institute/nonprofits/. Submissions are being accepted now, with a deadline of Friday, May 12, at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Read more from this blog. http://bit.ly/2ryPkyi

Skild Competition Platform Powers $300,000 Cisco Innovation Challenge

Five hundred billion. That’s the number of devices that will be connected to the Internet by 2030 according to some estimates. And that’s not just computers and smartphones. We’re talking about things like cars, home appliances, manufacturing equipment, etc. If a device is powered, it’s likely it will be “web-enabled” at some point in the not-too-distant future. Cisco is looking to promote advances in the Internet of Things (IoT) through its Cisco Innovation Challenge, which is powered by the Skild competition platform.

About the Challenge

The Cisco Innovation Challenge is open to students and recent alumni from any college or university. The competition seeks innovative ideas in a number of areas, including:

• Local industry/economic development
• Critical human needs (food, water, shelter, and disaster relief)
• Healthcare
• Economic empowerment/financial inclusion
• Education
• Environment
• Connectivity 

Read more from this blog. http://bit.ly/2qfiXAL

ASCE Innovation Contest Seeks Creative Ideas on Infrastructure

A topic we’re hearing more about in the news these days is the state of our infrastructure here in the U.S. Our roads, bridges, and other structures — in many cases built many decades ago — are beginning to show their age. And it’s not just a cosmetic problem. Much of our infrastructure is beginning to reach the point of being dangerously decayed or unstable. The American Society of Civil Engineers is well aware, and is looking to improve the way we will address our infrastructure needs in the future through an innovation contest.

The ASCE Grand Challenge

As part of its vision for the future, the ASCE has developed what it calls the Grand Challenge. They describe it as a commitment to rethinking what’s possible in their industry. Through it, they are working toward a goal of reducing infrastructure life cycle costs by 50 percent by 2025 and trying to find ways to optimize our infrastructure. Read more from this blog. http://bit.ly/2rys0kk

OtterHacks Online Contest Software Slated for Late April in Monterey, CA

If you’re going to attend a hackathon, why not pick one in a gorgeous location? Sure, you’ll be inside working away for much of the time. But when you step outside for a break… ahhh! Monterey, California, on the state’s rocky central coast, is one such ahhh-inducing site. That’s where the OtterHacks Hackathon will take place April 21-23.

About OtterHacks

A group of 150 students will collaborate to come up with unique, fresh, and innovative ideas. From writing groundbreaking code to finding new ways to use the latest online contest software, these hackers will be blazing a trail into the future. Yes, that’s a pretty dramatic statement, and yes, it’s absolutely true. Event organizers advocate “learning through doing,” and there’s no doubt this group will be doing amazing things. Read more from this blog. http://bit.ly/2p0kCvT