2021 IEEE CTU Challenge Award Winners
Download the 2021 CTU Challenge Executive Summary
Best Overall
Best Overall Proof of Concept
The Nimble
An Open Source, Portable, and Offline-first Wireless Mesh Network for and by Underserved Communities
Eric Nitschke (USA)
Award: USD 10,000
Sponsored by: Facebook Connectivity
Best Overall Concept
Ba11y
Crowdsource a11y reporting platform
Rahma Utami and Muhammad Noor (Indonesia)
Award: USD 8,000
Sponsored by: Microsoft
FIRST PLACE
Technical Proof of Concept 1st Place
InterGram
Advanced Digital Development Centers for Delivering Essential Community Services over High-speed Broadband in Rural India
Sarat Pradhan, Niladri Pradhan, and Soumyaprakash Das (India)
Award: USD 7,000
Sponsored by: Intelsat
Business Model
Proof of Concept 1st Place
Platforms to Increase Sustainability and Impact of Communications Services
Ignacio Prieto-Egido, Cesar Cordova Bernuy, Leopoldo Liñan Benitez and Juan Antonio Paco Fernandez (Spain)
Award: USD 7,000
Community Enablement
Proof of Concept 1st Place
Empowering Digital Participation and Affordable Access Through the iNethi Platform
David Johnson and Melissa Densmore (South Africa)
Award: USD 7,000
Technical Concept 1st Place
Bamboo Towers for Low Cost,
Affordable Internet Connectivity to Remote Rural Areas
Sarbani Banerjee Belur, Siddhartha Ghosh and Subhrajit Dutta (India)
Award: USD 5,000
Community Enablement Concept 1st Place
Internet Access in Ecuador’s Amazon
Joel Pliskin, Bruno Taborga, Soledad Mills, and Robert Marsh (USA and Ecuador)
Award: USD 5,000
Second Place and Honorable Mention
Technical Proof of Concept 2nd Place
OVERCOME21
BRS Deployment in the Fruit Belt Neighborhood in Buffalo, NY
Filippo Malandra, Nicholas Mastronarde, Sunha Kim, Zhangyu Guan, and Houman Saberi (USA)
Award: USD 3,000
Business Model
Proof of Concept 2nd Place
Aggregating Energy & Connectivity in Rural Africa – ICT Hub Model – Case Study Nakivale, Uganda
Conrad Ekisa, Patricia Oviedo, Joaquin Aviles Lopez and Benson Olobo (USA and Uganda)
Award: USD 3,000
Community Enablement
Proof of Concept 2nd Place
TV White Space & Community Networks Cooperative Societies
Feasible Alternatives to Connect the Unconnected Rural Population
Jabhera Matogoro, Nerey Mvungi, Anatory Justinian, and Luzango Mfupe (Tanzania)
Award: USD 3,000
Technical Concept 2nd Place
Intelligent and Cost-effective Multipath TCP (MPTCP)-based Framework for the Satellite Internet
Shiva Raj Pokhrel and Anwar Walid (Australia)
Award: USD 2,000
Business Model Concept,
Honorable Mention
Deliverance
Portable Sonography for Pregnancy and Childbirth in Remote Areas
Joann Canning and Roxanne Giannikos (USA)