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Members of ITServe Alliance, the largest association of IT Services organizations across the United States, comprising of over 2200 small and medium-sized businesses were chosen to be and were part of the Judges Panel at the prestigious United States Congressional App Challenge Contest held last month.
Established by members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, the Congressional App Challenge is designed to engage student creativity and encourage their participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education fields. The nationwide contest allows high school students from across the country to compete with other students who reside in their congressional district by creating and exhibiting their software application, or “APP” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice.
During the event organized by Illinois’s 11th Congressional District, Vinay Mahajan addressed the APP participants and congratulated the winner, a 10th grader from Illinois who developed the Dermidetect APP, a skin cancer detector using AI.
“We are extremely proud that Omprakash Nakka, Tanuj Gundlapalli, Jagan Chitiprolu, and Venkat Yerubandi, all active members of ITServe had the privilege of serving as Judges for the Congressional App Challenge Program,” said Mr. Vinay Mahajan, President of ITServe Alliance. “Such contests across the nation by Congressional Offices are very encouraging of our young and aspiring entrepreneurs and are in sync with the objectives of ITServe Alliance in promoting and advocating for local talents and resources that are aimed at the United States maintaining its leadership in technology and innovation,” Mahajan added.
Siva Moopanar, Director of ITServe Alliance Policy Advocacy Committee (PAC), who has been instrumental in coordinating with the Congressional Offices for ITServe’s participation in the Congressional APP Challenge said, “We acknowledge that this program provides a great opportunity for us at ITServe to engage with Lawmakers and make a positive impact on our upcoming generation of innovators in Science and Technology.”
ITServe recognizes that this is a great program and has plans to engage with more Congressmen for similar opportunities in the coming years. ITServe has offered to allocate funds from its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) STEM Funds to support this program by collaborating directly with the congressional App challenge organizers. ITServe has advocated for and has invested Millions of Dollars in its STEM Education Program to promote the “American Ingenuity Account” to fund State-administered grants for STEM education and worker training.
The Congressional App Challenge is sponsored by the Internet Education Foundation (IEF), which assists offices in hosting the challenges in their individual districts. Those interested in participating may visit the Congressional App Challenge website for more details. Participation in the contest is at the discretion of each Congress Member’s office. Please visit the Congressional App Challenge website to confirm your district’s participation and obtain guidance on entry guidelines and other details.
ITServe Alliance represents many prestigious IT companies functioning with similar interests across the United States. With an active membership of 2,200 + members who are small & medium-sized companies, ITServe has 21 Chapters and doing business all over the U.S. Together, the Itserve members have 175,000+ IT professionals employed throughout the U.S. and generate over $12 billion in revenue annually.
