Contest Description

The Maine App Challenge is a vehicle to turn a student's curiosity into a college major, internship, and eventual career in the Maine Computer Science & Technology industry. Hosted by Tyler Technologies, the Maine App Challenge is an opportunity for high school students to explore, use and improve their STEAM knowledge and creativity. Tyler’s goal is to provide an empowering, hands-on learning experience requiring students to (i) identify a purpose and a target audience, (ii) design and develop an Android or iOS mobile application that accomplishes the purpose, and (iii) present the application for review. Submissions will have three parts: the Application (“App”), a Video Presentation, and Participation, Consent and Release Form.

Calendar of Events

You may register for the App Challenge email list at any time. The submission deadline for the Maine App Challenge is March 29, 2024 at 11:59:59 p.m. (entries must be submitted prior to March 30, 2024 12:00 a.m. EST) ('Entry Deadline').

Eligibility

You are eligible to participate in the Challenge if you meet the following requirements at the time of App Challenge entry:

1. You are a student enrolled in high school level classes, including a home school program, in the State of Maine during the 2023-2024 school year.
2. You (or your parent or legal guardian, if you are under 18 years of age) are a Maine resident as defined by Maine laws and regulations.
3. You are at least 13 years old at the time of submission.
4. You are not a child, stepchild or household member of any person employed by Tyler Technologies or Educate Maine, and you are not a child, stepchild or household member of a Maine App Challenge judge.
5. You have signed an App Challenge Participation, Consent and Release form ("Consent") and submitted it with your Submission. If you are under the age of 18 years old, you have informed your parent(s) or legal guardian of your desire to participate, and your Consent has been signed by a parent or legal guardian.
6. You are on only one App Challenge Team. Teams may consist of one, two or three students and each Team member must meet all of the individual eligibility requirements listed in 1-5 above.

Submission Entry Content and Technical Requirements

To be eligible, a Submission must meet the following requirements:

1. Application: This component implements your App design. Apps must be delivered to Tyler as follows:
1. Android submissions: an .APK file
2. iOS submissions: the XCode project root directory containing the .xcodeproj file and all subsequent files/folders
3. For Code.org submissions: a URL to the App
   The .APK, .xcodeproj or URL to the App will contain the following components:
1. Your App; and
2. An "About" page of your App. The About page must contain the title of the App and a YouTube link to your Team's Video Presentation.
2. Video Presentation: You can have the best App in the world – if no one knows about it, no one uses it. Use the presentation portion of the Submission to inform your target audience, and tell why you came up with this application, and why it’s so great. Answer the question: Why should the target audience use your App? The video duration should not exceed 5 minutes. All team members should actively participate in the presentation whether that is via editing, filming, or performing the presentation. This component will be posted as a YouTube video. The YouTube video should be set to Unlisted. This will allow judges to easily view videos while maintaining your privacy. Details on how to set YouTube videos to Unlisted may be found on YouTube’s help page: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/157177?hl=en
3. Technical Requirements. Only Android or iOS Apps may be submitted. Submissions should be no bigger than 50 megabytes. Judges will use Android version 4.4.2 to test and judge Android Apps, and iPOD touches iOS 10 or later, to test and judge the iOS Apps. In order to be eligible to win, a submission must work on the applicable device used by judges for testing.

More detailed information regarding the Application requirements, the About page, including suggested optional items, and the Video requirements can be found at https://www.tylertech.com/maine-app-challenge/submit-your-app.

Submission Rights and Requirements:

By entering a Submission, your Team is representing that all Team members have read and agree with the Rules.

1. Each Team may only enter one (1) Submission.
2. In the event of a dispute as to the composition of any Team, or ownership of any Team Submission, Tyler’s records as of the App Submission date will control.
3. The Submission (a) must be your Team’s original work, (b) solely owned by your Team, and (c) not violate of any intellectual property rights or privacy rights of any third party.
4. The Submission must not contain (as determined by Tyler in its sole discretion) any content that is inappropriate (examples are content that is sexually explicit, violent, promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual, promotes discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation or age, promotes the use of alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, firearms/weapons or a political agenda, is obscene or offensive, or contains disparaging or untrue statements about other people or companies), or violates any laws.
5. Submissions must be free of malware or other security threats. Your Team agrees that Tyler may conduct testing on your App to determine whether malware or other security threats exist.
6. Submissions will not be returned.
7. Any false information provided by your Team may result in your Team’s immediate elimination from the App Challenge.
8. Tyler reserves the right to request a copy of the source code for your Team’s App.
9. Tyler reserves the right, in Tyler’s sole discretion, to reject or disqualify any Submission that does not meet the App Challenge criteria, the specific Submission requirements, or any of the Rules, or if any person on the team submitting the Submission does not comply with the Rules.
10. Late Submissions will not be accepted. Tyler’s computer is the official timekeeper for the App Challenge.
11. After the Submission period has ended, the Submission cannot be modified in any way until the judging has ended.

App Challenge Winners' Awards

One of Tyler’s goals in sponsoring the App Challenge is to promote student interest in pursuing a post-secondary technology degree. App Challenge monetary prizes will be awarded in the form of contributions to 529 Plans (a college savings plan sponsored by a state or state agency).

1. The first place Submission will receive $6,000, the second place Submission will receive $3,000 and the third place Submission will receive $1,000.
2. If there are multiple students on a winning team, the Submission prize will be divided and disbursed equally among the team members.
3. Any App Challenge participant receiving a monetary award must be designated as a beneficiary under a 529 Plan no later than July 31, 2024. A winning participant may forfeit his or her winnings if the participant does not have a 529 Plan established for his or her benefit by July 31, 2024.
4. Any taxes imposed on prizes are the sole responsibility of the winners. The App Challenge winners (or if a winner is a minor, the winner’s parents or legal guardians), are responsible for ensuring that the winner complies with all the applicable tax laws and filing requirements.
5. For more information on Maine's Section 529 Plan, please visit www.nextgenplan.com. Tyler makes no representation or warranty with respect to any 529 Plan. It is each winner’s responsibility (with his or her parent or legal guardian if a winner is under the age of 18) to determine which 529 Plan is best for him or her and to establish such 529 Plan if the winner is not already a beneficiary of an existing 529 Plan.
6. Potential App Challenge winners may be subject to further verification of App Challenge eligibility and participation requirements in Tyler’s sole discretion.

Maine App Challenge – Internship Interview Opportunity

Tyler is offering all participants who are part of a Team that submits a top ten 2023-2024 Maine App Challenge Submission a guaranteed interview for any internship opportunity made available by Tyler from time to time and for which the participant applies.

Participants wishing to take advantage of this interview opportunity may do so after the completion of their sophomore year of college. It is an eligible participant’s responsibility to apply for available internship postings by Tyler and to note on the participant’s application that the participant was a Maine App Challenge 2023-2024 top ten finalist. Tyler will maintain a list of top ten Submission finalists to verify the students who qualify to interview for an open internship position. Participation in an interview does not guarantee an internship offer.

Submissions are ranked by the Maine App Challenge team in its reasonable discretion using the judging rubric available on the App Challenge website.

Maine App Challenge School Award Winner

Tyler recognizes the immeasurable contributions Maine educators and school systems make in promoting STEAM curriculum. In recognition of the vital role Maine schools play in providing students with opportunities to learn and improve computer science and technology skills, we are offering a $500 award to the Maine high school with the most Teams submitting an eligible entry to the 2023-2024 Maine App Challenge.

Rules, Rules and More Rules:

1. Participation is free. There is no purchase or entry fee.
2. Your Team retains all ownership of the Submission and all data rights and intellectual property included in the Submission. It is your Team’s sole responsibility to take all steps your Team deems necessary to protect the intellectual property contained in the Submission.
3. By entering a Submission to the App Challenge, your Team grants Tyler, and Tyler’s App Challenge affiliates (such as Educate Maine), an irrevocable, royalty free right and license to, without limitation: (a) use, review, assess, test and otherwise analyze the Submission and all its content for purposes of judging the Submission; (b) post any part of the Submission online after the Entry Deadline; (c) make the identity of the Teams/individual participants publicly available after the Entry Deadline, (d) use the Submissions for non-commercial purposes after the Entry Deadline. This means Tyler and Tyler’s App Challenge affiliates will have full rights to share, discuss and use any part of the Submissions, including the Apps and the Video Presentations, for App Challenge related media and communication purposes, but not for any commercial purpose, and not for Tyler’s or its App Challenge affiliates’, own financial gain. You also agree to sign any additional documentation that Tyler deems necessary for Tyler’s exercise of the rights granted above. If your Team does not agree with the use of your Team's Submission as described above, please do not enter the App Challenge.
4. Participants agree and acknowledge that personal data submitted to Tyler as part of participating in the App Challenge, including a participant’s name, mailing address, phone number, and email address, may be collected, processed, stored and otherwise used by Tyler and its affiliates for the purpose of administering the App Challenge. Except as otherwise noted in these Rules, or as required by law, Tyler will not disclose a participant’s nonpublic, confidential information to third parties. Please see Tyler’s Privacy Statement, located at https://www.tylertech.com/privacy for additional information regarding Tyler’s privacy practices.
5. Your Team acknowledges that after the App Challenge winners are announced, any part of your Submission may be posted on Tyler’s App Challenge website, and/or a Tyler App Challenge affiliate’s website (even if your Team is not one of the winners) for viewing by visitors to that website. Tyler and its App Challenge affiliates are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your Submission by visitors to any website.
6. A team mentor/advisor is allowed, but not required. If your Team has a mentor/advisor, please disclose the identity of the mentor/advisor on the applicable line of your Participation, Consent and Release Form. A team mentor/advisor may not contribute to the technical and/or substantive work in the Submission.
7. Tyler reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the App Challenge, or any part of the App Challenge, if any fraud, technical failure or other factor beyond Tyler’s control impairs the integrity or proper administration of the App Challenge, as determined by Tyler in its sole discretion.

Judging

1. The judging rubric is available on the App Challenge website.
2. Eligible Submissions may be screened initially by a panel of qualified individuals selected by Tyler in its sole discretion. The screening panel will judge the Submissions on the criteria identified in the Rules to select the finalist Submissions.
3. Finalist Submissions may be judged by a panel of finalist Submission judges. Tyler will appoint judges in Tyler’s sole discretion. Tyler reserves the right to substitute the finalist Submission judging panel at any time and for any reason.
4. Judges will be expected to be fair and impartial. A judge may elect to recuse himself or herself from judging a Submission if in the judge’s opinion it is not appropriate for him or her to judge that Submission because of past or current relationship with an App Challenge participant or prior knowledge of the content of a Submission.
5. In the event of a tie in Team points for first, second or third place, Tyler shall review and re-rank the Apps in its discretion so that there is one winner in each category. In the event of a tie between two or among multiple high schools for the most Teams entered in the Maine App Challenge, (i) the high school with the App scoring the most points will win, or (ii) if two or more high schools have the same number of Teams entered, and there is also a tie score in highest ranked App points, the high school having all its Apps submitted first in time shall win.

Limits on Tyler's Liability:

1. Tyler is not responsible for:
1. Incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by App Challenge participants, printing errors, or equipment or programming failure associated with or used in the App Challenge;
2. Unauthorized human intervention in the submission process or technical or human error that may occur in the administration of the App Challenge or processing of Submissions;
3. Injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by participation in the App Challenge or receipt of any award;
4. Unauthorized use of a Submission by third parties;
5. Disagreements among App Challenge team members related in any way to the Submission;
6. Any liability with respect to the investment or use of the winners’ prize money after contribution by Tyler to the winners’ 529 Plans; or
7. Submissions which are lost, delayed or corrupted, whatever the cause.
2. Participants may not dispute Tyler's administration of the App Challenge.

Changed Terms

Tyler reserves the right to change or modify any of the Rules applicable to the App Challenge or to add new App Challenge terms and conditions. The Rules as posted at the time of Submission will control and you are advised to check the App Challenge website regularly for updates to the Rules, and immediately prior to the time you enter your Submission. In the event of any inconsistency between these Rules and other App Challenge materials or advertisements, the terms and conditions of the Rules control.

The administration of the App Challenge, including but not limited to the determination of whether a Submission meets the entry criteria, and the judging and determination of the App Challenge winners, are in Tyler’s sole and absolute discretion and are final and binding on all App Challenge participants.