THE Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) has launched a competition among tertiary students to redesign its official website, giving participants a chance to win prizes valued at $350,000.

Participants are being asked to upgrade and redesign the corporation’s website to give it a more modern look and feel and make the site more efficient and user-friendly. 

First prize is $250,000 and $100,000 for the runner-up.

“The PCJ has always been a strong advocate of education and youth development, so when we were looking to upgrade our website we decided to take the novel approach of getting college students involved in the project,” said Camille Taylor, the PCJ’s information and corporate affairs manager.

“This competition is a win-win because the PCJ will get the benefit of the innovation and creativity of the youngsters, while the students will get valuable experience from working on a high level professional project,” she added.

Students can enter as individuals or in teams, but all submissions must be appended with an official letter from the entrants’ head of department or course instructor, certifying that the entry is the work of the individual or group.

While creativity and innovation are being strongly encouraged, students will be required to revamp the site in accordance with guidelines and specifications. The redesign should include the structure of the site as well the interface; and the technology utilised should allow for the easy integration of social media.

All the details of the competition, including the entry forms, design specifications, the judging criteria and timelines are available on the PCJ’s website www.pcj.com

Interested persons have until June 28 to submit their entry forms to the PCJ. Final submissions are due on Monday, August 26, when each team or individual will have an hour to make a presentation on their proposed site to a panel of judges. The judges will then take additional time to interact with the sites before submitting final scores.

The winners will be announced by August 31, 2013.

For more information and download requirements visit: http://www.pcj.com/dnn/Announcements/News/tabid/89/Default.aspx

Source: Jamaica Observer