GSMA Launches Mobile Health University Challenge

LONDON, November 9, 2011 -

- Second GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, May 29 - June 1, 2012

The GSMA, in co-operation with the Qtel Group and Qualcomm Incorporated, today launched the GSMA Mobile Health University Challenge 2011/12, a global competition that highlights key mobile health initiatives taking place within the university community and showcases them 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, 2012.

“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 Dr. 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 several criteria:

• Commercial appeal
• Value/utility
• Innovation/uniqueness
• Significance of the healthcare challenge that the solution identifies/solves
• Use of standards and consideration of regulation challenges
• The user experience, including the user interface and effective use of APIs and technology, as applicable.

“The Qtel Group is proud to sponsor the GSMA Mobile Health University Challenge and as a supporter of the development of m-Health eco-systems for the regions of the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, this competition is in-line with our overall mHealth strategy,” said Dr. Nasser Marafih, CEO, the Qtel Group. “We aim to support innovative best practices for deploying and implementing wireless technologies and communication systems to enable access to healthcare and health-related applications and information. In particular, we are working to support initiatives that provide hard-to-reach populations with actionable public health, and which support educational development around healthcare issues.”

“Qualcomm Labs is committed to helping companies in the medical device, pharmaceutical and life services industries to innovate and develop new connected health solutions,” said Rick Valencia, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Wireless Health. “As part of that commitment, we are very pleased to participate in the global Mobile Health University Challenge, which assembles the brightest minds from top universities to create and develop mobile health business concepts, applications and devices that address real health care needs.”

GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit 2012

The GSMA also announced that the GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit will again be held in Cape Town, South Africa from May 29 to June 1. This premier event will bring together the key stakeholders in the mobile health world, from leaders in government, private sector and industry, to developers and implementers working on the ground, to further the understanding and to support the improvement of health outcomes and well-being.

The Summit will again include a thought leadership conference programme addressing a wide range of topics and an exhibition showcase of cutting-edge mobile health solutions, as well as business development opportunities for key executives from across the mobile and health-related industries. The event attracts a wide range of stakeholders including mobile operators, insurance groups, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, research centres, equipment manufacturers, infrastructure vendors, application developers and integrators from around the world.

The conference and exhibition will be held on May 30 - 31, with many additional meetings, working groups and other sessions taking place on May 29 and June 1. Information about the GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit can be found at mobilehealthsummit.com/event/2012_preview.shtml. For more information on the GSMA Mobile Health University Challenge, please visit bmic.org/gsmachallenge.

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 Congress.  

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

About the mHealth Alliance

The mHealth Alliance champions the use of mobile technologies to improve health throughout the world. Working with diverse partners to integrate mHealth into multiple sectors, the Alliance serves as a convener for the mHealth community to overcome common challenges by sharing tools, knowledge, experience, and lessons learned. The mHealth Alliance advocates for more and better quality research and evaluation to advance the evidence base;  seeks to build capacity among health and industry decision-makers, managers, and practitioners; promotes sustainable business models; and supports systems integration by advocating for standardization and interoperability of mHealth platforms.  The mHealth Alliance also hosts HUB (Health Unbound), a global online community for resource sharing and collaborative solution generation. Hosted by the United Nations Foundation, and founded by the Rockefeller Foundation, Vodafone Foundation, and UN Foundation, the Alliance now also includes PEPFAR, HP, the GSM Association, and NORAD among its founding partners. For more information, visit www.mhealthalliance.org.

Information about the GSMA-mHealth Alliance Mobile Health Summit can be found at www.mobilehealthsummit.com.

GSMA: Abigail Faylor, +44(0)2070-670-851, afaylor at webershandwick.com or press at gsm.org; or mHealth Alliance: Dayle Kern, +1-202-778-1632, dkern at unfoundation.org