Frequently Asked Questions
What information do I need to register?
When registering, you will need the following information at a minimum for each participant: name, date of birth, parent email address (if under 18 at the start of the competition), and country of residence. We use your name to generate the certificates at the end of the competition, date of birth to identify the track for judging and to confirm participation with a parent for those under 18, and we use your country of residence for matching judges to people not from their geographical region. Please make sure you have all of this information available when registering as we will NOT be accepting late entries.
I didn’t receive a confirmation email for registering. Am I registered?
Once you’ve completed the form and get the confirmation page on the website, there is no further action needed. We will be reaching out to participants after registration closes with additional details about the Appathon kickoff.
If you are registered as part of a team, only the team leader will receive the confirmation email. The team leader’s email will serve as a point of contact for all future email communications from MIT App Inventor. All team members are welcome to join the Appathon category on the MIT App Inventor Community.
How do I submit my app?
On the Wednesday before the close of the competition you will receive an email from the system with a link to submit your app, the written description for the judges, and either a link or file upload of your app video. Submissions are due before 23:59 AOE on July 31st. No late submissions will be accepted.
Can I submit an existing app?
No. Apps should be developed during the July 18-31 period. We will be announcing a specific set of themes on July 18 for the Appathon and apps should be developed to address one or more of those themes. Apps that do not address one of the themes announced on July 18 will likely not score well during the judging period.
Please do not resubmit previous App of the Month, Coronavirus Challenge, etc. apps.
Can I use extensions in my app?
You may use any extensions from MIT, or any free extension so long as you include a note from the extension author that it can be redistributed by MIT as part of the competition.
Can I use another platform based on App Inventor?
No. Judges will be using code.appinventor.mit.edu to test apps. Because the different platforms have different components, it is likely your app will not work correctly when reviewed using MIT App Inventor.
Will I receive a certificate of participation?
Yes. Everyone who participates in the Appathon will receive a certificate of participation. Winners will be given separate documents to indicate their placement. The judges reserve the right to also identify honorable mentions for apps.
What if I (or a team member) will turn 18 during the competition?
Please complete your information based on your age on July 18, 2021. If you were born July 20, 2003 and you will turn 18 on July 20, 2021, then put 17 for your age. If you were born July 18, 2003 and you will turn 18 on July 18, 2021, then put 18 for your age.
How large can a team be?
There is no restriction on the size a team, but be aware that adding more team members may impede team progress.
How do we submit our app?
Individual participants and team captains will receive a link during the Appathon period to the submission server. This link is tied to your registration, so do not share it with anyone else (otherwise, they can submit your app as if they were you!). On the submission form, you will need to fill out some basic information as well as pointers to your AIA and video files.
We recommend that teams consider uploading their submissions sooner than the submission cutoff deadline to ensure that their submissions go through in a timely manner.
How can multiple people collaborate on an app?
App Inventor only lets one person edit a project at one time. One way to collaborate is to separate tasks such as design, art, and programming across people, and then import those assets into the final project. If you want to have multiple programmers on a team, each programmer can build each screen in a separate project and then use the Project Merger Tool to merge the projects together. You may also use the anonymous accounts on code.appinventor.mit.edu and share your four word return code with other team members. However, only one person can have the project open at any given time.
