MCWT’s Website Design Contest Showcases How Michigan Girls Will Make Life Better

For a window into what Michigan girls are thinking about when it comes to making the world a better place, look no further than this year’s Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation’s website design contest. From wildfire alerts to stress management wearables, ocean-cleaning robots and 3D braille readers, 44 middle and high school girls presented their ideas on Saturday, January 11, at Harman International in Novi, Michigan, as finalists in the state’s longest-running website development competition.

For a window into what Michigan girls are thinking about when it comes to making the world a better place, look no further than this year’s Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation’s website design contest. From wildfire alerts to stress management wearables, ocean-cleaning robots and 3D braille readers, 44 middle and high school girls presented their ideas on Saturday, January 11, at Harman International in Novi, Michigan, as finalists in the state’s longest-running website development competition. 

“This competition is one of the many ways MCWT is inspiring and growing girls and women in technology,” said Melanie Kalmar, president of MCWT and CVP, CIO, CDO at Dow. “The quality and imagination of the girls’ presentations demonstrated that Michigan is nurturing an incredibly talented generation of women who will pursue their passion to change the world through technology.”  

The contest kicked off last October with free coding and design training for the students. Next, they built websites, using HTML and CSS, centered on the theme of real or imagined products or services positively impacting the world. The cutoff for submissions was December 3, 2019. MCWT partner companies provided 103 volunteer judges, with expertise in digital design and communications, to examine the entries and select finalists.

Finally, on a rain-soaked Saturday, 44 girls, some in teams and others by themselves, presented their websites to a panel of tech industry leaders and a roomful of their peers, families and teachers. Winners were selected from three categories: High school advanced; high school beginner; and middle school, and awarded monetary prizes.  

“The energy and enthusiasm in the room was contagious! The girls were so proud to share their work and ideas,” said Meghan E. Giammarusti, MCWT mission lead for high school programming and experience lead at Ford Motor Company. “The Website Design Contest solidifies MCWT efforts to invest in young girls to help them gain confidence from a technical and social perspective, and continue their technology journey.”

The 14^th annual MCWT Website Design Competition was sponsored by Accenture, Ally, Amerisure and Harman International. MCWT’s professional programming and K-12 educational and engagement experiences would not be possible without the support of its corporate partners and volunteers.

14^th Annual MCWT Website Design Contest Winners

View winner and honorable-mention websites HERE.

High School Advanced

1^st Place – Sumedha Valapudi, Novi High School, NOVI – Topic: HeartConnect Stress Management

2^nd Place – Alice Qin, Plymouth High School, PLYMOUTH – Topic: Virtual Reality

3^rd Place, Tie – Hillary Luan, Northville High School, NORTHVILLE  – Topic: CRISPR Gene Editing Biotech

3^rd Place, Tie – Srikruti Vinnakota, Salem High School, CANTON – Topic: Accualarm Wildfire Detection

High School Beginner

1^st Place – Angela Matta, Dearborn Center for Math, Science & Technology, DEARBORN – Topic: Prosthetic

2^nd Place – Hannah Poynter, Lakeview High School, ST. CLAIR SHORES – Topic: Robot Surgery

3^rd Place – Nina Crawley, Lakeview High School, ST. CLAIR SHORES – Topic: Solar Panels

Middle School

1^st Place – Shruti Balla, Pioneer Middle School, PLYMOUTH – Topic: Aerospace Traffic Control

2^nd Place – Rithika Karthikeyan & Arunima Vasudev, Boulan Park Middle School, TROY – Topic: Anti Bullying Resource

3^rd Place – India Camel, Ludington Magnet Honors Middle School, DETROIT – Topic: Clean Water Washers