The UG-Challenge

The UG-Challenge is a challenge event for those who are succeeding in their coursework and want to spend their extra time honing their skills and competing over real-world aims. The competition is a chance to apply the skills you are learning in the real world.

Winner 2010/2011

Liam Betsworth - Audacious

Liam built Audacious: an iPhone app that lets you leave messages in different physical places around the world and then lets other people discover these messages while exploring somewhere new. Liam presented this app at the British Conference on Undergraduate Research, 2011.

Watch the video.

or read more.

The Challenge:

Design and build a website that uses two or more APIs. The APIs might be social media APIs, news APIs, search APIs, london transport APIs, any API you like. The team with the most legitmate hits (according to Google Analytics) by May 2012 wins.

The Prize:

As well as a notch in your CV, there are Amazon voucher prizes to be won:

• 1st Place: £100
• 2nd Place: £60
• 3rd Place: £40

Taking Part

Please register your team (at any time up until end of May 2012) using the link at the top of the page. Your team name, and listed members will be displayed, but your project name and idea will be only visible to the organisers.

Proving your user-base

Hit counts must be proved using Google Analytics, clearing indicating the volume of users from October 2011 onwards.

What can you build?

You can build anything! A website, a game, a tool, etc. Whatever you think is a good idea that will be popular. The competition is about imagining, designing, and building something great. As long as it conforms to the law, the rules set by the university about contact and responsibility, and the application framework guidelines (e.g. Facebook's rules).

Resources

A database of APIs

Wikipedia's short list

The Rules:

1. You can work solo or in groups of up to 4 members
2. You must abide by all rules set by the API platform
3. You must not aggregate users by trickery
4. You must not create damaging or illegal applications
5. You must be able to produce a clear list of actual legitimate users
6. You must NOT let this impede progress in your degree - taking part will not earn you extra credit (just bragging rights and something for the CV)
7. Taking part will not be accepted as an excuse for failing modules
8. The site must have been written and created from the start date of this competition (October 2011). Sites created before this date, with significant user bases, will not be accepted as entries into the challenge.
9. You must conform to the legalities set out by the university set out at the bottom of this page.
10. All decisions by the committee (to be arranged towards the end of the competition) will be final.
11. In the event of a tie, decisions will be based upon novelty, complexity, and professional use of techniques learned during your degree.

The legalities

Your website and any documentation must be built according to these positions from the university:

1. The site is your own, and that you are building it as a studying undergraduate computer scientist.
2. The university is not liable for damages or costs associated with the site.
3. The university reserves the right to advertise and promote your successes.