Message from Heather Picov, our CEO, on how we’re responding to the coronavirus

This is a challenging time for everyone. As a team we are closely monitoring the situation and advice from the government, and adjusting our operations as needed.

We wanted to send a message to all those connected with Apps for Good to share our approach.

Teacher-led courses

Much of our work is centred around teacher-led courses in schools and we are working closely with our teachers to support them. Our course materials are all entirely online and available for free, and our online competition entry form is open for students to enter. We are also creating a version of our machine learning course that students can work on independently as an alternative, which will be available from next week.

Product development workshops

Part of our model in the UK to reach the most in-need young people is to bring together our corporate partners with schools in day-long product development workshops – our App in a Day and Machine Learning in a Day sessions. These are being reviewed on a case-by-case basis, working closely with our partners, volunteers and the schools to adapt our approach to suit different circumstances and follow public health advice.

Connecting schools and industry partners remotely

Remote volunteering has always been core to our offer: it connects students, regardless of their location, to tech and business professionals from around the world, helping to inspire young people to see the possibilities offered through technology. Each year we already connect thousands of students to industry professionals remotely, and we will build on this. Soon we’ll be sharing the results of how we have revamped our North West of England event to a remote model.

UK National Awards

The UK national finals for our annual competition is scheduled for June and we are committed to running this in the best way possible so that we can still celebrate the hard work of our students and what they’ve achieved this year. Our entry process is entirely online and shortlisting is conducted remotely, but the finals are an in-person event where students pitch to panels of judges and get feedback in a marketplace from hundreds of people in industry. We are making contingency plans and consulting with our schools and partners to decide a course of action that works for everyone.

Apps for Good’s core strengths include the commitment and talent of our team, the dedication of our partners and schools, and our ability to adapt and change quickly – and these will certainly be needed over the coming months.

We want to echo the statements made by others about how much we have always appreciated how the sector works together to support the shared goal of inspiring young people to change their world through technology. I want to thank our partners, schools and many others for the understanding and support they continue to give us.

There are many challenges right now and we hope the impact for everyone will only be minor. We feel the best thing we can all do is to work together and support each other, and continue our efforts to ensure our young people thrive in whatever the future brings.

Heather Picov, CEO, Apps for Good