Contest Information

**Contest Schedule is Subject to Change**

*NOTE: The AITP NCC Contest Website has ALL the details, sample code, past problem statements & Solutions!

The most frequent asked question in the PC Troubleshooting contest is “Does each member of the competing team need a laptop?” The answer is: Yes. However, we will be splitting all the competitors into one of three qualifying sessions on Friday morning. In order to allow you to bring a few less laptops to the conference, we will schedule each team member in a different session. So each member of the team can use the same laptop.     

NOTE: Read below for news flashes about:

     1.  Blade Server Contest

     2. Business Intelligence Contest

www.aitpncc-contests.org

Contest Rules & Prize Money

• The official AITP National Collegiate Conference (NCC) contest rules for each contest can be viewed at www.aitpncc-contests.org

• The top ten teams in each contest event will be announced during the conference awards banquet (1st, 2nd, 3rd and up to 7 Honorable Mentions)

• The top three teams in each contest will receive prize money split evenly between ALL the winning team members

• Contest prize money will be paid by an AITP check issued after the conference after each individual has completed an IRS W-9 form which will be able for all winners to sign onsite at the banquet near the photo area

• Contest Prize Money Schedule:

  • Application Development: 1st ($1,000), 2nd ($500), 3rd ($250)

  • All Other Contests:             1st ($500), 2nd ($250), 3rd($100)

  • Scavenger Hunt:                 $100 to winning team!

  • Student Chapter Banner:   $100 (both most Technical & most Artistic)

Important Contest Information

*A Must Read!

1. Contest Eligibility and Guidelines

2. BYOC: Bring Your Own Compute

AITP allows allows all students who wish to compete the chance to do so. If any student has special needs, please indicate such on the attendee/contest registration form as well as contact aitpncc@aitp.org.

Contest Point of Contact

Overall AITP NCC Contest Coordinator

Eric Rudisill

CP Handheld Technologies

erudisill@cphandheld.com

This 2008 NCC competition provides contest participants with a unique opportunity.  The contest uses the ESRI software Business Analyst Online (BAO).  ESRI is the leader in providing software and data solution for analyzing data in a geographical fashion.  BAO is a web-based application, which is accessed using an Internet web browser.  Participants do not install this software on their own computers, but rather access it via the Internet.  BAO is a cutting-edge, commercially available application with fees charged for it use.  Normally, access to BAO reports is limited by a subscription or using individual report purchases.  This competition provides participants the unique opportunity to use this GIS application without incurring these fees.  The primary goal of the BI competition is to utilize the geographic information system (GIS) technology of BOA together with supporting business analysis skills to address a common BI analysis.  As part of the competition student teams will be presented with a business scenario related to business continuity planning, market campaign planning, site selection, or supply chain logistics analysis.  Each team will be asked to leverage BAO and its GIS data sources to recommend the best course of action based on the facts and questions proposed in the scenario. This is the second year of the competition.  Continuing last year’s arrangements, all students participating in this competition will be required to use the same software to conduct the analysis.  This year that is the BAO application.

BAO combines GIS technology with extensive business, consumer, and demographic data to deliver more than 100 reports and maps over the Web.  Companies, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations can use BAO to profile customers, analyze potential site locations, reveal untapped markets, and conduct targeted marketing campaigns.  With BAO, users can customize projects with rings, donut rings, drive-time polygons, and hand-drawn shapes.  Reports and maps are delivered directly to the user’s e-mail as a PDF file or in Excel format.  Users can also add their own customer data and save projects for future use.

Each registered BI competition team will be provided a logon access to this software so that reports and maps can be created without incurring the usage fees.  However, this access is limited to only registered contestants, because of the commercial value of BAO.  Hence, this access arrangement is provided from the time of registering for the competition through the completion of competition.  A team must be officially registered for this contest by completing their conference registration and payment using the procedure set forth for NCC registration.  Official registration must be made prior to the start of the NCC.  This requirement of early registration is so that each competing team will have appropriate access to the BAO application prior to the competition and can prepare for the competition.  There will be no onsite registration of new teams who desire to participate in this competition.  Teams of two students will be provided a single access for use by that team.  With teams of two, when one team member has registered, that team member will be provided the single access for their team.  For teams of two, a team member substitution may be made prior to the competition.  Students frequently desire to work with cutting-edge technology.  This is truly a unique opportunity for you to do just that using the BAO application for GIS analysis!  Don’t let this opportunity to use this leading-edge, state-of-the-art software pass you by.  Check out the BI competition on the AITP NCC web today.

This BI competition is supported and developed through the efforts of ESRI and CMU-Research Corporation under guidance for the NCC planning committee.

NEW CONTEST: Data Center Management/Blade Servers

Whether you are linking Blade servers into a grid, or providing advanced management functions, or using them in some other creative manner, we would like to see the best of the best in creativity and management. Participants will be judged on creativity, technical feasibility, and marketability of the application.    Each entry should include a real world problem and a solution based on the application.  For instance, if the area you wish to address is research and increased processing power for modeling, you will need to address how the servers would be configured to accomplish this, how you would manage the configuration, and the benefits that would be realized by this application.  Any peripherals ( i.e. storage, printers, etc.) must be included in the design.  Benefits may include topics such as lower power consumption, increased processing power,  enhanced management of multiple platforms, increased storage processing capabilities, etc.