Students To Showcase Innovative Skills in Verizon Competition

The University of Texas at Dallas will host the Smart Campus Competition, which challenges student teams to design innovative solutions for real-world challenges using Verizon’s 5G and other technologies.

An informational kickoff event will be held at 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, at the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center. The competition is open to college sophomores through master’s students.

The six-month competition will task students with identifying problems, brainstorming solutions and developing ideas with support from industry-leading tools and mentorship. UT Dallas is one of four universities to host the challenge this academic year.

“The Smart Campus Competition offers an incredible opportunity for our students to innovate using Verizon’s 5G and other technologies while receiving direct mentorship from Verizon professionals,” said Dani Lamb, assistant director of strategic research initiatives in the Office of Research and Innovation. “This initiative is a testament to the University’s growing and dynamic partnership with Verizon, which continues to thrive across campus through a variety of collaborative efforts.”

The competition will include four rounds over the academic year, wrapping up with a final round on March 2 in which finalist teams will give five-minute presentations to judges and a public audience.

In the first round, each team will work with mentors and submit a two-minute video showcasing their concept or idea by Nov. 16. Teams selected to advance to the second round will present their ideas and concepts at a Feb. 10 poster competition, where judges will select finalists based on their project’s impact, feasibility, creativity and presentation quality. The advancing teams will receive a $500 award to support the development of their final pitch.

Finalists will take the stage to present their ideas to judges and a public audience on March 2. The top three teams will receive a $3,000 prize and the opportunity to present their winning ideas on March 31 to Verizon executive leaders at their corporate office in Irving, Texas.

“What makes this competition especially exciting is our strong encouragement for students to form interdisciplinary teams, bringing together talents from different majors, departments and schools,” Lamb said. “Some of the most impactful ideas arise when students combine their strengths, whether it’s a concept that needs technical development, or a solution that benefits from strong visual storytelling and design.”

Last year, Verizon held its first challenge at Rutgers University in New Jersey. The winning teams identified solutions to help students find parking. provide real-time translation and transcription, and provide more accessible course information and schedule-planning.