Tyler Technologies Promotes Student Innovation to Build Career Pathways in Maine

Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL) today signaled its ongoing commitment to innovative thinking with the launch of its eighth annual scholarship competition, the Maine App Challenge. Each year, the Maine App Challenge provides students in Maine with the opportunity to win college scholarships totaling $10,000 for developing a mobile application and a video to showcase its design.

According to a report from McKinsey & Company, innovation is critical to corporate growth. By increasing students’ exposure to innovation in middle and high school, the Maine App Challenge is helping to build a strong pipeline of creative technology workers in Maine. Past scholarship winners have invented mobile applications that help their peers stay organized at school, encourage independent reading, and even find ways to donate time, money, and needed items to the community. They have noted that developing a functional mobile application provides a leg-up in the college application process, as well as invaluable exposure to computational thinking, design principles, and software development.

“Tyler Technologies brings the latest technology to the public sector,” said Chris Hepburn, president of Tyler’s Enterprise Group. “To remain competitive, we continually find ways to build career pathways to innovation. The Maine App Challenge has been a unique way for us to facilitate an innovation mindset across the next generation of professionals in Maine. This year we’re planning to expand our impact by working with the University of Maine to provide local students with important opportunities to develop innovative skills through increased exposure and practice with innovation.”

Participants in the Maine App Challenge, and the educators supporting them, will now have the opportunity to complete a series of free workshops related to brainstorming, customer discovery, prototyping, testing, and promotional pitching offered in collaboration with the Foster Center for Innovation at the University of Maine. The workshops – presented as live webinars on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons throughout the month of December, and recorded and posted for viewing anytime – are the first step in the pathway to earning a University of Maine System Innovation Micro-Credential. Not only will they provide students with a solid foundation to assist with the design and development of their apps, but they will teach participants a system to conceive of unique, meaningful ideas – and act on them.

“Participating in Tyler Technologies’ Maine App Challenge is a powerful way for students in Maine to learn new skills and differentiate themselves in the college admissions process,” said Jake Ward IV, vice president for innovation and economic development at the University of Maine. “We’re thrilled to validate their efforts to think creatively and bring ideas to life by offering them a pathway to receive a micro-credential in innovation. Their takeaways from the workshops, combined with this verifiable credential, will help them to stand out in their educational pursuits and their future careers as well.”

Tyler has had a strong presence in Maine for many years and has more than 1,200 employees in its Bangor, Falmouth, and Yarmouth offices, where the company’s ERP Division is based. Tyler supports more than 250 clients across the state. Since its inception in 2015, the Maine App Challenge has gifted more than $70,000 in 529 college savings plans to students in Maine.

Tyler Technologies developed the Maine App Challenge in partnership with Educate Maine's Project>Login. In addition to awarding three students college scholarships totaling $10,000, Tyler will be gifting tablets to the first 50 students to complete a submission, offering an internship interview to students who have submitted the top 10 mobile applications, and awarding a $500 check to the Maine high school with the most eligible participants. The submission process is open now through May 15, 2022.

For more information about the Maine App Challenge, including additional details on how to participate, please contact [email protected].

About Tyler Technologies

Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) provides integrated software and technology services to the public sector. Tyler's end-to-end solutions empower local, state, and federal government entities to operate more efficiently and connect more transparently with their constituents and with each other. By connecting data and processes across disparate systems, Tyler's solutions are transforming how clients gain actionable insights that solve problems in their communities. Tyler has more than 37,000 successful installations across more than 12,000 locations, with clients in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and other international locations. Tyler was named to Government Technology’s GovTech 100 list five times and has been recognized three times on Forbes’ "Most Innovative Growth Companies" list. More information about Tyler Technologies, an S&P 500 company headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at tylertech.com.

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