Are you a U of I student with a passion for social justice and application development? Have you been envisioning how to use a gigabit application to support education, health, energy, transportation, and more in the Champaign-Urbana community? If you answered “yes!” to these questions, you might be the next to become a CU-Ignite Innovator!
Two student applicants will be chosen for this opportunity. Selected applicants will receive support to develop their app ideas, including mentoring, resources, and collaboration opportunities with U.S. Ignite partners. Students may also be invited to present at the Smart Cities Connect Conference and Expo to showcase their application. Check out this worksheet for gigabit ideas!
Want to Apply?
Please submit a 2-page proposal to CU-Ignite@illinois.edu.
The proposal should include the following:
- Your name and department of study
- Project title and description of application
- The community issue addressed
- Target users
- A description of the application design
- Your development plans
- Your current resources and skills for app development
- Information on how the award can assist you in obtaining resources to develop the gigabit application.
Submit your application by March 31st !
Email CU-Ignite@illinois.edu with any questions about the application process.
Happy developing!
This opportunity is provided by the U.S. Ignite node of Urbana-Champaign. Our Big Broadband (UC2B). is the gigabit fiber-optic network that was funded by the federal Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program. UC2B passes more than 4,600 households and provides services to 294 community anchor institutions in the underserved and unserved neighborhoods in Urbana-Champaign. As a collaboration between the University of Illinois and the cities of Urbana and Champaign, the goal of UC2B is to increase digital literacy, expand broadband infrastructure, and enhance education, employment, public safety and community interests.
Urbana-Champaign was selected as one the smart gigabit communities (SGC) to connect with dozens of cities through the nationwide gigabit networks. UC2B is one of the original members of U.S. Ignite, a nonprofit organization funded by the National Science Foundation.
