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From The Office of Gov. Roy Cooper

RALEIGH: Gov. Roy Cooper is encouraging high school students across North Carolina to sign up for the Ready, Set, App! Competition by Nov. 30. Teams of three to five students each will work together through the contest to develop a functional and original Android mobile app to solve a real-world problem in their school or community.

“Ready, Set, App! is an exciting opportunity for students to develop their technical skills while working together to solve a problem they’ve identified in their community,” Cooper said. “High schoolers have lots of creative ideas, energy and passion, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with.”

Ready, Set, App! is a continued collaborative effort between Lenovo and the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE), a business-led, education non-profit within the Governor’s Office. The second year of the competition launched in October and concludes in April. All ninth through 12th grade public and charter school students in North Carolina are eligible and there is no cost to participate.

With more than 27,000 Information Technology jobs unfilled in North Carolina, Ready, Set, App! provides an opportunity for students to explore potential careers in computer science. The contest helps students develop and use three key skills: mobile application coding, teamwork and problem-solving.

“Lenovo is dedicated to advancing STEM education and increasing access to opportunity for diverse population,” said Libby Richards, North America community engagement manager at Lenovo. “The Ready, Set, App! Competition’s focus on community problem solving provides students the opportunity to create real change, and to build valuable skills in coding and programming.”

The Ready, Set, App! program began in 2019. The teams competed virtually and were provided student interns to assist with the app development process. Each member of the winning teams received prizes provided by Lenovo.

Winners of the first-ever Ready, Set, App! program were announced in June 2020 and included teams from Orange, Wake and Randolph counties. The winning teams designed apps to increase recycling, provide access to school supplies and educational opportunities and connect students with peer tutors.

To sign up for Ready, Set, App! or get more information, visit https://readysetapp.devpost.com/.