An application that tests the safety of drinking water and displays the results with location information on a map was declared the winner of the ChildApp Appathon that was held in Dhulikhel from June 27-29.

The group “Engineering ADDA,” comprising of Nepal Engineering College students Milan Karki and Darpan Pudasaini, received a trophy and cash prize of NRs. 1,00,000 for winning the first place in the Appathon. A joint initiative of UNICEF, Microsoft Innovation Center Nepal and Childreach Nepal, the Appathon aimed to develop innovative web, phone, desktop and game applications to solve common issues related to children.

From the initial 560 applicants, 380 applicants were trained in the boot camp for 3 days on various programming skills and briefed on the issues that the children face in Nepal today. Of them, 102 young developers, programmers, and designers were shortlisted to attend the Appathon, who then came together as 29 teams for the 60-hour application development race.

Preparing for the final pitch to the jury panel on final day, the teams focused on developing solution prototypes for the problems they had identified. The teams had developed applications on topics such as water quality testing, information about vulnerable children, teacher absenteeism, educational package for children with autism, immunization as well as applications to aid pregnant women and mothers. Experts from various fields such as banking, technology, child rights and many more volunteered for the duration of the event to be mentors for the teams.

According to UNICEF, a closing ceremony was organized on June 29, marking the end of the competition. The teams “Etechneers” that included Bibek Sharma Chapagain, Samira Sharma, Sanjita Sharma and Bikram Awale of the National College of Engineering won the second prize of NRs. 50,000. Similarly, “The Rising Coders” team that comprised of Abhishek Paudel, Arun Kumar Agrawal, Manish Chandra and Nabin Bhattarai of the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk were announced as the winners of the third prize of NRs. 10,000. Their applications featured virtual classroom and birth registration and information about prenatal and postnatal care via SMS respectively.

In addition, “WhyIt” team with Dipendra Shrestha, Krishna Parajuli, Prakash Aryal and Thakur Neupane and “Valar Morghulis” team comprising of Anup Karki, Prasanna Kumar Gyawali, Aayush Kumar Chaudhary and Aman Kandoi, were awarded honourable mentions.

“The applications that these teams developed focused on teacher absenteeism and educational package for children with autism respectively. The top five teams will be participating in the “Idea Studio” mentorship program for an opportunity to receive training and investment to turn their ideas into reality. Idea Studio is Nepal’s first platform calling innovative and creative ideas from all over the nation to solve today’s problems and shape the future,” states press release issued by UNICEF.