UTS Faculty of Law and UTS LSS want you to think big, share your ideas, and show how technology can build a more socially just world by attending events, sharing your idea on social media, and developing some fundamental skills in building an app online. If you want to know more about how apps work in the legal world, we’ll connect you to online training with Checkbox (see below) so you can understand more about app design and what apps can do.
Think big, share your ideas
We’re looking for a brilliant app idea from you and you'll go in the running to win the Tech and IP Research Cluster Most Innovative Idea Award. You'll receive fame, glory and a $100 Visa gift card!
We’ve organised plenty of inspirational events in the Faculty of Law this August and September to get you thinking about social justice, technology and sustainability and the opportunities available by learning about law and technology. We want you to showcase those thoughts in this unique competition by sharing your idea for an app that can make the world a more sustainable place in 20 words or less on social media.
Sustainability encompasses environmental, social, and economic goals with equality and wellbeing for all at its heart. As we strive towards a more sustainable future, there’s a lot of things to worry about. Some things, like growing electronic waste problems, may be caused by the prevalence of technology in our daily lives. Technology can also present tremendous opportunities through innovations like wind farms, solar power, and other forms of sustainable energy. In creating a more sustainable future, technology can be harnessed to help the most vulnerable.
Here are some amazing tech ideas:
- Blockchain technology can ensure secure documentation for displaced people.
- Drinking straws that filter bacteria can make clean water a reality in the poorest parts of the world.
- UTS students have created apps that promote social justice for renters in Allens Neota Challenge.
Apps are a brilliant way to make legal information more available, support activities of social justice organisations and increase access to justice. They can also help operationalise obligations in international law. Hannah Lambert’s winning 20 word app idea from 2023 is a great example of this:
LGA Waste Directory app: which waste goes where, drop-off locations for specific waste (i.e. e-waste) and a community repurposing blog.
It seems like a simple idea but an app like this can do an enormous amount to help Australia can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. Looking at the Sustainable Development Goals might give you some app inspiration!
How to enter
- Attend events during Tech + Social Justice Week.
- Craft a big idea about how you think an app can make the world a more sustainable place in 20 words or less.
- Post your idea on LinkedIn or Instagram with the hashtag #utslawbigideascomp or email it to us and we'll repost it on LinkedIn for you with your name attached (lawbigideascomp@uts.edu.au). Do this by Sunday, 15 September 11:59 and you'll go in the running to win the Tech and IP Research Cluster Most Innovative Idea Award. You'll receive fame, glory and a $100 Visa gift card!
Each law student who submits an app idea and attends at least two Tech + Social Justice week events will be formally recognised as a 2024 UTS Law Champion for Change. Make sure you register and sign in for events and send us an email (lawbigideascomp@uts.edu.au) by Sunday, 15 September 11:59 telling us what you went to and linking your social media post.
If you are a Brennan Program student and attend Monday’s event, Tuesday’s event and Thursday’s event, you’ll also be eligible for a bonus of five ROJ points.
Even if you don’t have an app idea, you can still be part of Tech and Social Justice Week by learning how to use Checkbox, a no-code legal app building platform. After you complete their online training you can become Checkbox certified and learn to create a no-code app on their platform. A great addition to your CV but more importantly, you will understand how this technology can become a useful part of any lawyer’s tool kit.
Free training this September
Even if you don’t have an app idea, you can still be part of Tech and Social Justice Week by learning how to use Checkbox, a no-code legal app building platform. After you complete their free online training you can become Checkbox certified and learn to create a no-code app on their platform. A great addition to your CV but more importantly, you will understand how this technology can become a useful part of any lawyer’s tool kit.
Email lawbigideascomp@uts.edu.au now with the title Checkbox Certification Access and your full name and student email address for further instructions to set up access to get certified in Checkbox in only 1-2 hours. We’ve organised a session with Checkbox expert, Dan Pooley, 12.30-1.30, 11 September 2024. Sign up so you can see drop in and ask questions about getting the most out of training once you’ve signed up. He will also demonstrate building on the Checkbox platform.