WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11) announced today the kick-off of the annual “Congressional App Challenge,” which officially opens July 26. This competition is open to all high school students in the 11th Congressional district.

“The Congressional App Challenge gives New Jersey students a national platform to display their skills as coders and engineers,” Frelinghuysen said.  “In order to flourish in the rapidly evolving technology economy, we must ensure our students are exposed to the importance of STEM education and real world applications of their knowledge.” 

The Congressional App Challenge is a competition aimed at encouraging students to learn how to code by creating their own applications. The Challenge is intended to highlight the value of computer science and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education and encourage students to engage in these fields. By encouraging and recognizing our nation’s young programming talent, Congress hopes to shine a light on the growing importance of these skills.

The Congressional App Challenge will last from July 26 through November 1, 2017, and is open to all U.S. high school students in participating districts. Challenge participants are invited, either as individuals or as teams, to create and submit their own software application (“app”) for mobile, tablet, or other computing devices on a platform of their choice. A panel of local computer science professionals will judge the apps, and the winners in each district will have the honor of being recognized by their Congressional representative.

“Nothing is more important to our Nation’s continued economic strength than developing the talents and expertise of students interested in STEM fields,” Frelinghuysen continued.  “I look forward to viewing the submissions of students from New Jersey’s 11^th Congressional District and urge all students to take advantage of this exceptional opportunity.”

More information, including a full list of rules, can be found here: http://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/.