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New Year – New Competition

After an amazing set of student entries and winners last year, Colligan Challenge is returning for a second year.  Come take part in the challenge starting Oct. 9th at the kickoff and information session.

For more information about last year’s challenge:Last Year’s Winners, Colligan Participant 2014

Ed Colligan

Ed Colligan was at the center of a mobile computing revolution as CEO of Palm, Inc. What distinguished Palm from its competitors was their relentless focus on the user experience and the continued improvement of interface designs for the mobile market. Focused on creating the next generation of mobile products, Colligan left Palm to found Handspring where he and his partners changed the face of mobile computing again, creating the forbearer of all future smartphones; the Handspring Treo. Ed is now an investor mentoring entrepreneurs with the goal of establishing the next generation of breakthrough products and brands.

For more information about Ed:Advice to students from Ed, 5 Questions with Ed

How it works

Student teams of 2-5 will design a GUI application or system intended for the consumer market. The challenge will consist of two stages. First, student teams will register and participate in informal faculty coaching sessions (fall 2014). Coaching sessions are aimed at walking students through an interface design process from research and concept development to refinement and presentation. At the end of the fall term (2014), there will be an initial submission process to evaluate final presenters. The second stage of this challenge is the communication and presentation of the finalized interface concepts and will take place during the first weeks of winter term (2015) resulting in student teams presenting their ideas in front of a panel of reviewers composed of Ed Colligan as well as entrepreneurs and industry leaders. Based on this review, winners will be selected.  See announcements for 2014/15 Rules

The Challenge

The Colligan User Interface Design Challenge seeks to inspire University of Oregon students from all programs and classes to create a novel graphic user interface (GUI).  This event will result in teams presenting their final concepts/products to a panel of prospective investors and industry leaders. Based on the panel’s selections, prize money will be handed out to the winner and runner up teams. The challenge was inspired and sponsored by mobile technology pioneer Ed Colligan (UO ’83) and is presented by the University of Oregon Office for Research, Innovation and Graduate Education.

Timeline – Coaching Sessions:

Fall Term (2014)

Oct. 9th @ 6pm – Kickoff / Research (Proctor 41, Knight Library)

Oct. 9th to 23rd – Team Registration Open

Oct. 23rd @ 6pm – Concept Visualization (Proctor 41, Knight Library)

Nov. 6th @ 6pm – Wireframing / Comps. (Proctor 41, Knight Library)

Nov. 20th @ 6pm – Pitch Prep. (Proctor 41, Knight Library)

Dec. 2nd – Submission of materials for First Round of competition (see future announcements for details)

Dec. 11th – First Round team selections announced

Early Winter Term (2015)

Jan. 15th @ 4pm – Final concept presentations / awards (Giustina Ballroom of the Ford Alumni Center)

RAIN & Regional Activities

This year, the competition will also feature a partnership with the Eugene node of the Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network (RAIN). The local branch, RAIN Eugene, operates an accelerator that provides mentorship, hands-on startup training, opportunities to interact with guest speakers, networking events, and a space to work.  For additional information regarding upcoming regional events: Eugene-Startups Events

For More Information

Jason O. Germany
Assistant Professor, Product Design
(541) 346-8230
jgermany@uoregon.edu

Ken Kato
Associate Director, InfoGraphics Lab, Department of Geography
(541) 346-5810
kkato@uoregon.edu

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