One Week App Camp at the European Space Agency, Rome

Deadline: 25 March 2013
Open to: Participants from ESA member-states, states involved in the GMES Space Component (GSC), and countries participating in the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community
Prize: Free travel and accommodation to the ceremony in Rome for selected 20 participants, the latest iPads for the members of the winning team

Description

Are you an innovative developer from Europe with experience in app development? Then take your chance and apply to spend one week at the European Space Agency (ESA) near Rome between 3 and 10 June 2013. ESA, with support of the Agency’s Technology Transfer Programme Office, is inviting 20 developers to its ESRIN location in Frascati (including travel expenses and accommodation) – and you can be one of them! Whether you are selected for the App Camp will depend on the creativity of your previous works with regard to content, usability, design, and the underlying business concepts, so show us the best apps you have developed.

Seize the opportunity to meet with like-minded people, create mobile applications using satellite data, and gain insight into ESA’s work. ESA provides access to satellite data for the development of mobile applications (Android and iOS) in five predefined categories. The goal is to come up with market-ready mobile apps using Earth observation data on smartphones, in particular by leveraging the possibilities offered by the European Earth Observation Programme GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security).

You don’t need any experience in integrating such data to take part in the App Camp. Participants will be able to choose their preferred category and will then be grouped accordingly into teams of four. The teams will be composed and connected before the event (as of early April 2013). All teams are asked to already brainstorm on their topics and come up with a preliminary concept prior to the App Camp, to be presented on the first day of the Camp. The winning team – whose members will each receive the iPad3 – will be selected by a jury of ESA representatives on the final day of the App Camp.

Eligibility

Participation in the App Camp is open to any app developer of adult age with citizenship in the following countries: ESA member-states, states involved in the GMES Space Component (GSC), and countries participating in the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community (EC FP7), which are all listed hereafter: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Canada. Participants who are permanently employed shall confirm with their application that their employers approve of their participation for the whole duration of the App Camp.

Location

The App Camp 2013 will take place from 3 to 10 June 2013 at ESA’s centre for Earth observation (ESRIN) in Frascati near Rome/Italy (arrival on 2 June 2013). All accepted participants will have to confirm to attend for the whole duration of the App Camp.

Categories

For your week at the App Camp, you can choose between five team categories. Please indicate your preference in your application:

  1. Land-monitoring using GIO Land – Expected output: a land monitoring app that exploits the comprehensive and timely information on land cover and land cover change provided by the operational GMES Service GIO Land.
  2. Discovering Climate Change with GMES – Expected output: an app that helps to understand indicators of climate change by visualizing different parameters in time and place.
  3. Crowd-sourcing in support of GMES – Expected output: an app that validates and/or complements remote sensing data by means of crowd-sourced in-situ data.
  4. Games and leisure – Expected output: a mobile game, a social networking platform, a couponing app, that reinvents Earth observation for the next generation.
  5. Observe and learn – Expected output: an educational app that provides an easy way to learn about Earth observation satellites and the data derived therefrom.

Prizes

For all 20 selected participants AZO will coordinate the travel and accommodation arrangements, which will be funded by ESA. Arrival at the hotel is scheduled for the evening of 2 June 2013. Hotel and meals will be provided for the whole duration of the App Camp. Departure is Monday, 10 June 2013, in the afternoon. The participants shall bring their own devices with wifi capability. ESA will provide the credentials for accessing the internet resources for the duration of the App Camp. The App Camp and all related communication will take place in English. The selected participants will have to accept and respect the general on-site ESRIN rules for safety and security. A general presentation will be organised on the first day at ESRIN, including safety and security information. Each participant shall provide ESA with a copy of the ID card or passport. An entry badge will be provided for the whole duration of the App Camp at ESRIN.

On the final day of the App Camp, after one week of intense teamwork in your selected category, you and your team will present your app to the other participants and a jury of ESA representatives. The latter will then select the winning team and present each of its members with the latest iPad.

How to apply

You can apply online here by 25 March 2013.

For more information, please visit the official website.

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