9th Regional App Challenge Brings Together Top Young IT Talents
The grand finals of the 9th Regional App Challenge — a unique programming competition for high school students jointly organized for nine years by Telekom Srbija, m:tel BiH and m:tel Montenegro — has been held in Banja Luka recently. As this year’s host, m:tel BiH welcomed the region’s most talented high school innovators, who showcased forward looking ideas and technological solutions that reflect the future of the digital world.
Following national level competitions, five of the best teams from each country presented their projects. A panel of experts from the Telekom Srbija Group selected this year’s winners: “Eko trag” team from the “9. maj” Grammar School of Niš, Serbia, with the app Eko trag, the “Dva i po mušketira” team of the Mostar Grammar School, Bosnia-Herzegovina, with the app Izgovorko and “Suport Team” of the “Vaso Aligrudić” Secondary School of Electrical Engineering, Podgorica, Montenegro, with the app Parentivo.
A special award for innovation, the “Strength of Innovation – Igor Osmokrović” prize, traditionally goes to the team whose app stands out for originality and creativity. This year, it was awarded to “Team Share” of the “Jovan Jovanović Zmaj” Grammar School of Novi Sad for their app Intruct.
Chief Strategy and Digital Officer at Telekom Srbija Natali Delić said that the applications presented by the young programmers demonstrated the region’s exceptional intellectual potential, ready to compete on a global scale. “It makes me especially proud that we have brought together talented young people from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, because thus we are eliminating borders through the power of knowledge. We are here to support them, as we believe their creativity combined with our technology, is a winning formula for the digital age,” Delić said and called on young talents to believe in their ideas, be bold as innovators, and show the world what the digital future looks like through their eyes.
Awards were presented by Jelena Trivan, CEO of m:tel BiH, who stressed that investing in young talents was one of Telekom Srbija Group’s strategic priorities. “The Regional App Challenge once again attests to the amount of knowledge, creativity and potential exist among the youth in our region. We will continue to support initiatives that help them turn ideas into concrete digital solutions, because we believe they are the future — of both our company and society as a whole,” Chief Officer Trivan said.
Zoran Milovanović, CEO of m:tel Montenegro, highlighted the importance of investing in young talents and digitalization. He also pointed to Telekom Srbija Group’s commitment to creating opportunities for their growth and added that those young innovators were active participants in setting new technological standards in the region.
The winning teams from all three countries will soon have the opportunity to attend some of the most prestigious international IT conferences, while the creators of the most innovative app, along with their mentor, were awarded high value smartphones.
The Regional App Challenge, as a continuation of the mts app competition, gives young people the opportunity to expand their knowledge, work collaboratively, and experience the entire application development process — from concept to final product — and to connect with their peers from across the region and with IT industry experts.
