The GSMA has launched the GSMA Mobile Health University Challenge 2011/12, a global competition that highlights key mobile health initiatives taking place within the university community.
The competition takes place on a global stage at the GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit 2012, which will be held in at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town, South Africa from May 29 to June 1.
“Pressures on the health services around the world are growing and mobile is seen as a channel to deliver a future of new innovative healthcare solutions,” said Craig Friderichs, Director of Health, GSMA. “Many new developments in this area are coming out of the academic community and the GSMA, with its partners, wants to foster and stimulate this fresh thinking.”
During the challenge, teams of university students will be asked to develop a mobile health concept that will address a specific healthcare need; these concepts could take the form of a business concept or a technology development. The teams will compete to reach the challenge finals, which will be hosted at the GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit in Cape Town on May 29, 2012.
Two members of the top 10 teams will be invited, expenses paid, to attend the GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit and present their entries to a judging panel comprised of venture capitalists, major industry players and thought leaders in the mobile and heath ecosystem. The winning team will be awarded up to $5,000 worth of training and mentoring towards the future development of their innovation.
The teams are challenged and encouraged to use their originality and creativity to create a compelling solution with a focus on commercial appeal, value/utility, innovation/uniqueness, significance of the healthcare challenge that the solution identifies/solves, use of standards and consideration of regulation challenges, and user experience, including the user interface and effective use of APIs and technology, as applicable.