One more year, the Aporta Initiative launches the Aporta Challenge, a competition aimed at promoting the creation of solutions based on public sector information, which help solve challenges in specific sectors that affect society as a whole. This time, the chosen sector is education.

A teaching model based on data and disruptive technologies

The current context of a global pandemic has marked a before and after in the education sector. Although there has been talk for years about the benefits of incorporating new technologies in the teaching-learning process, in what has come to be called Edtech, this trend has become even more necessary in the new post-COVID-19 educational ecosystem.

Edtech refers to all kinds of digital or technological innovations that aim to improve education. This will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the sector and promote more universal access to knowledge. A field where open data has great potential, as the European Union clearly states. Open data can serve as the basis for solutions that drive automated and personalized online processes based on disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, while promoting greater effectiveness and inclusion, and helping to meet sustainable development goals.

Under the conviction that digital technology enriches learning in a wide variety of ways and offers new opportunities, the European Commission itself launched the Digital Education Action Plan. Among other issues, said plan highlights the importance of promoting innovation in the sector by holding hackathons aimed at developing solutions that respond to the main challenges in education.

Challenges to solve in the Challenge Aporta 2020

In this context, the new edition of the Aporta Challenge is being developed, which seeks original ideas and prototypes that provide new opportunities to capture, analyze and use data intelligence in the development of solutions in the educational field. These solutions can be aimed at solving challenges such as the following:

• Encourage more effective teaching and improve students' experience in the learning process from home or the classroom. Address the growing need for personalized education and identify mechanisms that contribute to responding to the evaluation of learning in non-face-to-face digital environments.
• Promote the dissemination of teaching-learning experiences among the educational community.
• Accelerate the development of skills in teaching professionals to ensure that students learn more and better, in addition to reinforcing the learning of skills related to data analysis and emerging technologies.
• Make learning more attractive and help solve behavior or inattention problems of students.
• Facilitate student tutoring and improve decision-making.
• Respond to Internet security and / or data privacy problems.
• Improve the efficiency and effectiveness in the management of students, educational resources, institutions, etc.
• Introduce students to STEM fields and encourage their training in these subjects.
• Devise solutions aimed at reinforcing the prestige and social recognition of the teaching function.

How does the Aporta 2020 Challenge work?

The Aporta Challenge is developed in 2 phases:

Phase I: Ideas competition

Participants must present an original idea, developed specifically for this contest, and that responds to the proposed theme. The ideas and prototypes that are presented must use at least one data source generated by the Public Administrations, whether national or international. Additionally, its use can be combined with data sets exposed by other sources, public or private.

The ideas presented will be evaluated by the jury based on 5 criteria:

• Relevance
• Quality and overall clarity of the proposed idea
• Impact on the improvement of the educational system of the proposed idea
• Sources of utility
• Promotion of the quality of life of vulnerable groups

The 10 ideas with the highest score will go to phase 2.

Phase II: Prototype development and face-to-face exhibition

The authors of the 10 selected ideas will develop a prototype associated with the proposed idea. From the moment they communicate their pass to phase 2, participants will have a minimum period of 3 months to develop the prototype. A functional exemplification or simulation is sought that allows some interaction, a visualization or a multimedia solution that allows the proposal to be exemplified in a tangible prototype.

The three best prototypes will be selected according to the assessment of the established criteria:

• Easy to use
• Technical quality of the prototype
• Viability

What do the winning teams get?

The three selected prototypes will receive the following financial award:

• First classified: € 4,000
• Second place: € 3,000
• Third place: € 2,000

What do I have to do to participate?

The Aporta Challenge is aimed at individuals and legal entities from the European Union, who can participate individually or in teams.

Those interested in participating must submit their idea through this form at the Red.es website before November 18 at 1:00 p.m.

To present the idea, it is necessary to have an electronic certificate, so it is recommended not to rush the established deadline. Our support team will be at your disposal for any questions that may arise in the email desafio_aporta@datos.gob.es.

More information in the bases of the Challenge Aporta 2020.

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