GSMA Announces the Finalists and Overall Winner of Its Inaugural Mobile Health University Challenge

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit -- The GSMA, in collaboration with the Qtel Group and Qualcomm Incorporated, today announced the finalists and overall winner of its inaugural Mobile Health University Challenge, a global competition that highlights key mobile health initiatives taking place within the university community, and which are being showcased this week at the GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit 2012 in Cape Town, South Africa.

During the challenge, teams of university students from around the world were asked to develop a mobile health concept that would address a specific healthcare need. From the initial group of entrants, the top 13 teams were invited to attend this week's finals at the GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit to present their ideas to a judging panel comprised of venture capitalists and major players in the mobile and health industries. From these 13 teams, four were chosen to present to the judging panel in a final round, and from the final four, one overall winner was selected.

The four finalists were:

• Jordan University of Science and Technology (Jordan) - Snore Detector
• UC Berkeley (US) - LifeCheck
• University of Oxford (UK) - BabeeMon
• MIT (US) and Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte (Brazil) - Sana AudioPulse

The winner of the challenge was the joint team of MIT from the US and the Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte from Brazil for its Sana AudioPulse. As the winning team, MIT and the Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte will be offered mentoring towards the future development of their innovation and the opportunity to exhibit at key industry events such as the GSMA's Connected Living Latin America Summit, which is being held in Brazil in June 2012. 

"The teams were challenged and encouraged to use their originality and creativity to create a compelling and viable mHealth solution, and we commend the enthusiasm and commitment shown by all those who took part in our inaugural competition," said Jeanine Vos, Executive Director, mHealth at the GSMA. "Our congratulations to the winning team, MIT and the Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte, and our thanks to all those who participated."

For more information on the innovative solutions put forward by the final four teams, please visit: www.gsma.com/connectedliving/gsma-mobile-health-university-challenge.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as the Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com or Mobile World Live, the online portal for the mobile communications industry, at www.mobileworldlive.com.