The challenge is split into three main phases over the entire year. During the recruitment period, which lasts from August through December, students learn the necessary technical skills needed in order to develop their app. The official season, which starts in January and ends in late April, is when members actually create their app. Lastly, the Technovation cycle wraps up with the Pitch period, which lasts from May until the end of July, where members compete in regional, international semifinals and international finals competitions. Those who qualify to move on from the regional competition go straight to the international semifinals. And only a select few advance to the globals, or finals, held every year in San Francisco. During the competition, contestants demonstrate the capabilities of their app to a panel of judges and follow up with a presentation of their business plans.

Competitors are not necessarily judged by their technical coding skill and the quality of their app more than the idea behind the app and what they are trying to accomplish.

“Of course girls here [in the Silicon Valley] are going to have access to better resources than some other places so it is unfair to base the competition off of that aspect.” said Vice President and current Senior Johanna Karras.

Aside from the challenge, the main goal of MV Technovation is to help young women gain the confidence and skills needed to succeed as entrepreneurs in STEM fields, which are dominated by men.

“The importance of bringing women into stem fields is to introduce diversity into STEM fields,” president senior Carol Wang said.