SEOUL, KOREA- On September 30, the advisory committee for the 25th Global Software Contest held a meeting in Jung-gu, Seoul to strategize for the successful hosting of the 25th Global Software Contest. Attendees at the advisory committee meeting, including Global Software Contest Chairman Lee Ki-joo (currently serving as President of the Korea Internet Security Agency (KISA)), Operating Committee Chairman Cho Seong-gap (also Chairman of the Information Professional Association of Korea (IPAK)and 15 Korean IT (information technology) industry leaders, reached the consensus that the 25th Global Software Contest should bring creative ideas and excellent technologies into the limelight in order to broaden Korea’s pool of software talent.
Hosted by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) and organized by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) and IPAK, the 25th Global Software Contest is divided into three categories: the general category (for software developers, software companies and general people), the student category, and the overseas category (for foreign exchange students studying in South Korea and overseas companies). The 25th Global Software Contest will award a total of 34 finalists with various prizes.
The entry submission deadline August 31 and all submitted entries go through the first round of evaluation (paper-based evaluations and TTA (Telecommunications Technology Association) tests) and are then presented in front of judges between September-October. The winners of the Minister’s Prize (silver award) and other higher awards will be named at the award ceremony, slated to be held at the COEX convention center in central Seoul on Software Industry Day, December 2. The winner of the highest accolade, the President’s Award, will take home 5 million KRW in prize money.
This year, the 25th Global Software Contest has received a total of 200 entries, up 60 from last year. Breaking the submissions down by categorical contribution, 45% (or 90 entries) of the total entries submitted came from the application software category, 28% (or 57 entries) from the mobile app category, 16% (or 32 entries) from the game category, 7% (13 entries) from the embedded software category and 1% (three entries) from the corporate task category. Notably, students’ participation this year rose sharply compared with previous years.
Speaking highly of the noticeable increase in students’ participation, Chung Jin-wook, Chairman of the Global Software Contest judging panel and honorary professor at Sungkyunkwan University, said, “Celebrating the advent of an informatization era in the 21st century, developed nations have already been keen on nurturing software talent, making software education a required subject at elementary, middle, and high schools. Unfortunately, South Korea, albeit a software powerhouse in the world, has yet to include “information science” in the compulsory science curriculum. Therefore, nationwide hunts for software experts, led by the Global Software Contest, should kick into high gear to broaden the nation’s software talent base.”
In addition, Operating Committee Chairman Cho Seong-gap said, “The Global Software Contest has annually made improvements in contents. On the other hand, there still has been a lack of facilitates needed for evaluating entries for the overseas special award category. Thus, proactive participation and cooperation from IT associations and academic societies are badly needed. I hope software experts discovered by the Global Software Contest play a pivotal role in fleshing out the creative economy envisioned by the South Korean government.
