Seeking young website designers

Sixth form students could have designs on a £1,000 prize by creating an educational website.

The University of Teesside’s School of Computing has launched WebComp08 to challenge Year 12 and 13 students (aged 16 to 18) to come up with innovative website designs.

A £1,000 prize is on offer for the winning team. Each team of four students entering the competition must also have a mentor such as a teacher, who will be responsible for registering the team and providing guidance.

The competition’s theme is Improving Education. Students must include on their website a lesson or a learning aid linked to any subject within their school or college’s curriculum. Websites entered into the competition will be judged on quality and originality.

Professor Alan Clements, from the University’s School of Computing, will be one of the judges. He said the competition aims to offer students some insight into the work they may do at university, such as team problem solving.

He added: ‘A decade ago it took a team of computer professionals to design an exciting and original website. Today’s world is different. The competition asks a team of students to use the tools now available to them to create a website which could be used as part of a lesson.

‘The University’s mission is Providing Opportunity, Pursuing Excellence. That is exactly what this competition does, by giving students the opportunity to compete for a substantial prize and at the same time, the goal of the competition is excellence, originality and quality.’ Teams must register by 29 February. The competition is open to teams across Tees Valley, Tyne and Wear, Cumbria and North Yorkshire. The closing date for website design entries is 9 May.

The winning team will be announced on 15 June. The competition is sponsored by software company Microsoft.

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