Local Colleges Participate in Mobile Apps Challenge

Editor's Note: The following is a press release from the New Jersey Institute of Technology

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Stevens Institute of Technology and Rutgers University are now accepting submissions to the New Jersey Apps Challenge, a mobile apps competition designed to spur homegrown innovation in New Jersey. 

"The New Jersey Apps Challenge brings focus to an area that we believe to be so important that it is one on NJIT's three strategic priorities," said Dr. Joel Bloom president of NJIT.  "The convergence of high speed wireless networking, inexpensive mobile devices and cloud based computing resources that we call ‘Digital Everyware’ opens the door to innovative use of IT in market segments yet to be defined - creating new companies and new jobs for the future.”           

Donald H. Sebastian, PhD, senior vice president for research and development, explained further: “With nearly 1500 students enrolled in NJIT’s College of Computing Sciences and over 500 more in related university programs, dozens of new faculty work in IT and almost half of the 90 incubator companies based in NJIT’s Enterprise Development Center and our  NJ-HITEC driving IT reform in the healthcare community, Newark will  play an important role in fostering growth of the new App-economy.”

Through Dec. 31, 2012, students, faculty members and recent graduates from the three universities are invited to submit built-from-scratch mobile apps for a variety of platforms.  Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of distinguished judges and winners will be selected based on several metrics, including overall utility and potential commercial success.  The overall winner will be rewarded with the opportunity to pitch his or her idea to Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley.

The New Jersey Apps Challenge was formally announced on April 11, 2012 by U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. 

To submit a mobile app to the New Jersey Apps Challenge and for further information on rules and eligibility, visit the contest website.

In 2010, NJIT received $23 million in federal grant money to start NJ-HITEC (New Jersey Health Information Technology Extension Center) to assist New Jersey’s health care providers in their significant use of health information technology.  Today NJ-HITEC is the physician’s trusted advisor in the timely delivery of high quality healthcare through the selection, implementation, and achievement of meaningful use of an accredited Electronic Health Record (EHR) system.