HONOLULU, HAWAII, USA, October 25, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The annual LaunchPad, an international language technology competition held by The Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center (UH Tech Center) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, is now accepting applications for its 2024 event. Once again, the organizers will hold the competition in conjunction with the annual conference of the Computer-Assisted Language Instruction Consortium (CALICO), a premier venue for language learning and technology professionals. CALICO 2024, “Confluences and Connections: Bridging Industry and Academia in CALL,” will take place May 21-25, 2024, in Pittsburgh, PA.

“Our program helps align the needs in language learning with the technologies that these entrepreneurs are developing,” said Julio Rodriguez, director of the UH Tech Center. “The LaunchPad gives them a valuable opportunity to refine their products and make adjustments. Finalists receive feedback from a very well-informed audience, namely colleagues in the field with expertise in various areas of technology and language learning.”

The UH Tech Center started the LaunchPad competition in 2017, inspired by the popular Japanese TV show Dragon’s Den, and its U.S. successor, Shark Tank. The annual event is designed to facilitate early dialogs between startup companies and world language professionals and is held at various locations every year.

The 2023 LaunchPad was held on June 8, at the University of Minnesota also at the CALICO conference. Five startup companies pitched their innovative technology projects for language learning to a group of expert judges and an audience of language educators and researchers. Lingostar.ai, represented by Anthony Spadafino, was chosen as the winner of both the judges’ LaunchPad Award and People’s Choice Award determined by audience vote. Internationally recognized language education scholar Hayo Reinders was the master of ceremonies. The other four 2023 LaunchPad finalists were DLS VR, Eduling Speak, Mage Duel, and Pangea Chat. Finalists are added to the UH Tech Center’s network of language programs at 24 leading institutions of higher education for potential collaboration and piloting with instructors.

More information about the LaunchPad and instructions for submitting an application can be found at http://thelanguageflagship.tech/launchpad/. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2024.

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The Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
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