Mobile Games Innovation Challenge
Nokia Publishing invites you to take part in the Mobile Games innovation Challenge for developers.
They are looking for the best, most ground breaking concepts from the brightest and most creative minds in our industry. This is your chance to shock the mobile gaming world and possibly have your game concept published by Nokia.
Submitting your concept is easy: No code is needed, just a concept description and visualization. Visit insider.n-gage.com/innovation for more information.
They are looking for the best, most ground breaking concepts from the brightest and most creative minds in our industry. This is your chance to shock the mobile gaming world and possibly have your game concept published by Nokia.
Submitting your concept is easy: No code is needed, just a concept description and visualization. Visit insider.n-gage.com/innovation for more information.
International Development Design Summit
Here is the list of projects that we will be working on at IDDS 2008:
1.System for Flash Heating Breast Milk to help combat transmission of HIV
2.Incubator for low birth weight infants in rural zones
3.Hand held medical diagnostic tool
4.Micro Hydro Small scale water power
5.Power Generation from Mechanical Devices
6.Ropeway Transport system
7.Charcoal Crusher
8.Pearl Millet Thresher
9.Educational Television Computer
10.Interlocking Stabilized Soil Block Maker
I am at IDDS-MIT working on project 2: "Incubator for low birth weight infants in rural zones".
1.System for Flash Heating Breast Milk to help combat transmission of HIV
2.Incubator for low birth weight infants in rural zones
3.Hand held medical diagnostic tool
4.Micro Hydro Small scale water power
5.Power Generation from Mechanical Devices
6.Ropeway Transport system
7.Charcoal Crusher
8.Pearl Millet Thresher
9.Educational Television Computer
10.Interlocking Stabilized Soil Block Maker
I am at IDDS-MIT working on project 2: "Incubator for low birth weight infants in rural zones".
The Next Billion Network
MIT has launched a Next Billion Network to deploy innovative mobile technologies that can help people reduce friction in their local markets from the bottom up.
The Next Billion Network is based at the MIT Media Lab and will comprise 6 core activities:
1. Year-Round Academic Coursework at MIT
2. Next Billion Challenge Awards
3. On-the-Ground Deployments with Local Partners
4. Working Relationships with Industry
5. Local Mobile Programming Incubators
6. Opportunities for High-Tech Entrepreneurship
The Next Billion Network is based at the MIT Media Lab and will comprise 6 core activities:
1. Year-Round Academic Coursework at MIT
2. Next Billion Challenge Awards
3. On-the-Ground Deployments with Local Partners
4. Working Relationships with Industry
5. Local Mobile Programming Incubators
6. Opportunities for High-Tech Entrepreneurship
Citi Ashoka’s Changemakers Competition: Banking on Social Change
Ashoka’s Changemakers and Citi have partnered in a worldwide search for financial services projects that use the transformative power of innovation and skills to achieve real social change.
Between July 16 and October 1, 2008, we invite you to share your new ideas for financial services that can bring about strong and positive economic and social impact.
This competition is designed to reach the world’s entrepreneurs and to challenge them to use their substantial talents and skills to providing financial services for all.
Between July 16 and October 1, 2008, we invite you to share your new ideas for financial services that can bring about strong and positive economic and social impact.
This competition is designed to reach the world’s entrepreneurs and to challenge them to use their substantial talents and skills to providing financial services for all.
Design For The Children
Design For The Children is an open international design competition for students and professionals, asking participants to explore the potential of future pediatric and prenatal clinics for East Africa.
Entry is free and our goal is to use the winning design as the base for a pediatric and prenatal health center in Rwanda. Visit www.designforthechildren.org for additional information and registration.
Deadline: Jan 15, 2009
Entry is free and our goal is to use the winning design as the base for a pediatric and prenatal health center in Rwanda. Visit www.designforthechildren.org for additional information and registration.
Deadline: Jan 15, 2009
Poor markets make good cents
Poor markets make good cents – phones, finance and innovation at the base of the pyramid
David Lehr and Daniel Greenstadt
Vodafone Receiver
David Lehr and Daniel Greenstadt
Vodafone Receiver
When mobile phone adoption first began to spread beyond just business customers in Europe and the US, it was easy to overlook the potential in other markets and assume that base of pyramid (BOP) residents could neither afford nor make effective use of mobile phones. After all, most of them had never made even a landline phone call, phone rates were extremely high relative to incomes; and without a critical mass of phone users, who were they going to call anyway? As the following examples show, conventional wisdom was wrong and the mobile phone is being adopted and used among these consumers in ways that were impossible to predict even a few years ago. In fact, today, Africa and India have the world's fastest growing subscriber rates, with Latin America and the Middle East not far behind.
Mobile communication in the developing world
Mobile communication in the developing world – a design challenge
Neil Clavin
Vodafone Receiver
Neil Clavin
Vodafone Receiver
Current mobile interfaces and services are not designed for the developing regions of the world – many users have problems reading and writing, some services are not relevant and native languages not always supported. Many users complete only the basic functions of dialling a number or answering an incoming call.
Global Exploration Strategy
The Global Exploration Strategy , a document endorsed by 14 space agencies that identifies common interests both in human and robotic exploration of several possible exploration targets and destinations in our solar system, including the Moon and Mars. The GES Framework also recognizes that industry will have an increasingly important role in turning the new frontiers of space to economic opportunity.
Global Village Phone Grant Competition
Grameen Foundation today announced its inaugural Village Phone Grant Competition which will provide $10,000 each to up to two organizations to launch Village Phone programs. The competition is open to microfinance institutions and other non-profit organizations and is being run through Grameen Foundation’s Village Phone Assistance Center website, www.villagephonedirect.org. In addition to the $10,000 grant, the recipients will also receive technical assistance from the Grameen Foundation Village Phone team and support in developing program materials.
Design Your Dwelling Competition
Google SketchUp is co-hosting the design challenge with Dwell Magazine, a stylish and modern publication that focuses on good design as a means to better living. They are asking SketchUp users and readers of Dwell to think about what it means to feel "at home in the modern world".
Visit the competition website for all the rules, prize information, design parameters and submission guidelines.
Visit the competition website for all the rules, prize information, design parameters and submission guidelines.
Student satellites
Student satellites: encouraging trend or a sign of panic?
by Taylor Dinerman
The Space Review, July 14, 2008.
by Taylor Dinerman
The Space Review, July 14, 2008.
For at least the last several years, the aerospace industry has been trying to warn politicians that it is facing a major workforce crisis. In spite of all the prodding and a big increase in overall government education spending, the situation has not improved, or if it has the evidence is microscopic. While the presidential candidates pay lip service to the need to train a new generation of scientists and engineers, the leadership of the educational establishment, having successfully shrugged off the pressure from the Bush administration to improve their performance in this area, shows no signs of being ready to change the habits and priorities of a lifetime.
The Technological Revolution
The Technological Revolution
by Maury Klein
The Newsletter of FPRI’s Wachman Center for International Education
Vol. 13, No 18
July 2008
by Maury Klein
The Newsletter of FPRI’s Wachman Center for International Education
Vol. 13, No 18
July 2008
Most high schools and even colleges and universities do not offer courses on technology in America, which is extraordinary because technology plays such a dominant role in our life.
Facebook Activism
The guide, A DigiActive Introduction to Facebook Activism, is meant for activists who are interested in bringing digital technology to help develop excitement for a budding (or mature) movement.
The guide provides an overview some best practices with Facebook activism along with information about what and what not to expect. The end of the piece provides a closer look into three successful Facebook-driven campaigns from Egypt, Burma, and Morocco.
The guide provides an overview some best practices with Facebook activism along with information about what and what not to expect. The end of the piece provides a closer look into three successful Facebook-driven campaigns from Egypt, Burma, and Morocco.
Professional Science Master's Degree Programs
U.S. policymakers, universities, and employers should work together to speed the development of professionally oriented master's degree programs in the natural sciences, says a new report from the National Research Council.
The report Science Professionals: Master s Education for a Competitive World examines the answers to these and other questions regarding the role of master s education in the natural sciences. The book also focuses on student characteristics and what can be learned from efforts underway to enhance the master s in the natural sciences, particularly as a professional degree.
The report Science Professionals: Master s Education for a Competitive World examines the answers to these and other questions regarding the role of master s education in the natural sciences. The book also focuses on student characteristics and what can be learned from efforts underway to enhance the master s in the natural sciences, particularly as a professional degree.
The Worldwide State of the Mobile Web
Nielsen Mobile has released: Critical Mass: The Worldwide State of the Mobile Web, which asserts that “mobile internet reached a critical mass this year” with the US, UK and Italy as leaders in mobile internet penetration. Only 3.4% of Philippines subscribers use the mobile internet each month, 3% for Singapore, 2.6% for Brazil, 1.8% for India and 1.1% for Indonesia. The US has 15.6% mobile internet penetration which translates into 40 million active users. However, the study notes that due to bundling and other factors there are “95 million US mobile users who subscribed to the service but do not necessarily use it.”
NIST: TIP Announces Its First Competition
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking proposals for high-risk research projects to develop innovative technologies for inspecting, monitoring and evaluating critical components of the nation's roadways, bridges, and drinking and wastewater systems. The competition for cost-shared research and development (R&D) support released today is the first to be announced by NIST's newly established Technology Innovation Program (TIP).
The merit-based TIP competitive program can now fund cost-shared R&D projects by single small-sized or medium-sized businesses and joint ventures that also may include institutions of higher education, non-profit research organizations and national laboratories. TIP awards are limited to no more than $3 million total over three years for a single company project and no more than $9 million total over five years for a joint venture.
The merit-based TIP competitive program can now fund cost-shared R&D projects by single small-sized or medium-sized businesses and joint ventures that also may include institutions of higher education, non-profit research organizations and national laboratories. TIP awards are limited to no more than $3 million total over three years for a single company project and no more than $9 million total over five years for a joint venture.
Seedcamp 2008
Seedcamp is an intensive week long event held in September in London targeted at young entrepreneurs from across EMEA. Seedcamp is open to entries worldwide, from the largest megalopolises to the smallest rural hamlets. Seedcamp looks for ideas and businesses with global potential. You can of course start out focusing on a particular region but if that's where your plan ends it may not be right for Seedcamp.
The deadline for submission to Seedcamp 2008 is 23:59, Sunday August 10th.
The deadline for submission to Seedcamp 2008 is 23:59, Sunday August 10th.
Child and youth participation resource guide
This guide, Child and youth participation resource guide, presents resources on child and youth participation from Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, Australia and the Pacific. The main audiences for this resource guide are practitioners and managers involved in promoting child and youth participation in government, community-based organizations, child-led organizations, NGOs and UN and donor agencies.
As this resource guide shows, documents are available on children’s participation in education, HIV prevention, health, hygiene and sanitation promotion, environmental protection, urban planning, emergency response and preparedness, and the protection of children and adolescents from exploitation, violence and abuse, to name only a few.
As this resource guide shows, documents are available on children’s participation in education, HIV prevention, health, hygiene and sanitation promotion, environmental protection, urban planning, emergency response and preparedness, and the protection of children and adolescents from exploitation, violence and abuse, to name only a few.
Cell phone impact on low-income American Households
The report, Cell Phones Provide Significant Economic Gains for Low-Income American Households, released by the independent New Millennium Research Council (NMRC) think tank, concludes that providing cell phones to the 38 percent of America’s 45 million poorest households now without them — including millions of seniors, Hispanics, African-Americans and rural residents — could help them get work or make money worth $2.9 billion-$11 billion.
The Shape of Music
The Shape of Music
How do harmony and melody combine to make music?
by Dmitri Tymoczko. Seed Magazine
How do harmony and melody combine to make music?
by Dmitri Tymoczko. Seed Magazine
Roughly 2,500 years ago, Pythagoras observed that objects, such as the anvils he purportedly studied, produced harmonious sounds while vibrating at frequencies in simple whole-number ratios.
The U.S. Innovation System
In a new ITIF report,"Where Do Innovations Come From? Transformations in the U.S. National Innovation System, 1970-2006", finds that the nature of the U.S. innovation system has changed dramatically over the course of the last 40 years. It suggest that to succeed in the future, U.S. innovation policy must help support and reinforce our natural national advantage in collaboration. Thus, funding for the U.S. government’s technology initiatives should be expanded and made more secure, and the coordination of these technology initiatives across the federal government, particularly those that support partnerships between firms, universities, and federal laboratories, must be improved.
Mad Science: Synthetic Biology Contest
io9 is sponsoring a contest to find two of the best synthetic life forms you can design for us. The winners in our two categories will get either an all-expenses-paid trip to the kickass Synthetic Biology Conference in Hong Kong this October, or $1000 and a chance to have their creature drawn by a cool comic book artist.
The Zayed Future Energy Prize
The Zayed Future Energy Prize will be one of the driving forces behind innovative energy solutions. Modelled on the status and integrity of the Nobel Prize it will draw attention to future energy issues which constitute some of the most urgent challenges facing the world’s leaders today. The Prize will recognise the achievements of governments, companies, NGOs, individuals and institutions in response to the crisis of climate change and sustainable global energy resources.
The winner of the first annual Prize will be awarded $1.5 million with two additional finalists receiving $350,000 each to further develop their ideas.
The winner of the first annual Prize will be awarded $1.5 million with two additional finalists receiving $350,000 each to further develop their ideas.
JusticeMakers
JusticeMakers is hosting a global competition for innovations that end torture, abuse, and arbitrary detainment. The competition will award $5,000 to the eight best proposals for concrete, achievable action.
Create the Future Design Contest
The Create the Future Design Contest was launched in 2002 by the publishers of NASA Tech Briefs magazine to help stimulate and reward engineering innovation. The annual event has attracted more than 5,000 product design ideas from engineers, entrepreneurs, and students worldwide. The 2007 competition set a new record, with nearly 1,000 entries. Presented by SolidWorks Corporation, this year the contest is co-sponsored by COMSOL, Hewlett-Packard, and National Instruments.
Contest begins July 7, 2008 and ends October 17, 2008. We must receive your entry by 11:59 pm ET on October 17, 2008.
Six categories:
* Consumer Products: Products that increase quality of life in the workplace, at home, during leisure time, or while traveling.
* Machinery, Equipment and Component Technology: Products that speed and improve work, manufacturing, or scientific research processes.
* Medical Products: Products that improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare.
* Safety and Security: Products that enhance the security or safety of individuals, businesses, communities, or nations.
* Sustainable Technologies: Products that help reduce dependence on non-renewable energy resources, as well as products designed for other purposes using environmentally friendly materials or manufacturing processes.
* Transportation: Products that enable movement of people and goods from one place to another.
Contest begins July 7, 2008 and ends October 17, 2008. We must receive your entry by 11:59 pm ET on October 17, 2008.
Six categories:
* Consumer Products: Products that increase quality of life in the workplace, at home, during leisure time, or while traveling.
* Machinery, Equipment and Component Technology: Products that speed and improve work, manufacturing, or scientific research processes.
* Medical Products: Products that improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare.
* Safety and Security: Products that enhance the security or safety of individuals, businesses, communities, or nations.
* Sustainable Technologies: Products that help reduce dependence on non-renewable energy resources, as well as products designed for other purposes using environmentally friendly materials or manufacturing processes.
* Transportation: Products that enable movement of people and goods from one place to another.
WISIONS: 500,000 Euro Grant Fund for the Support of Innovative Energy Projects
WISIONS launches its 5th Annual Call for SEPS Application: 500,000 Euro Grant Fund for the Support of Innovative Energy Projects
Now in its fifth year, WISIONS, a Wuppertal Institute initiative that is funded and supported by the Swiss-based foundation ProEvolution, has launched its annual call for applications for
Sustainable Energy Project Support (SEPS). WISIONS invites the submission of proposals from now until 18 August 2008.
Information on previous SEPS projects, criteria for application and the application procedure
can be found on the webpage .
http://www.wisions.net/pages/SEPS
Now in its fifth year, WISIONS, a Wuppertal Institute initiative that is funded and supported by the Swiss-based foundation ProEvolution, has launched its annual call for applications for
Sustainable Energy Project Support (SEPS). WISIONS invites the submission of proposals from now until 18 August 2008.
Information on previous SEPS projects, criteria for application and the application procedure
can be found on the webpage .
http://www.wisions.net/pages/SEPS
Accidents lead to innovations
Oops!
By Robert D. Austin, Lee Devin and Erin Sullivan
Business Insight
Accidents lead to innovations. So, how do you create more accidents? There are steps you can take to make innovation less accidental
By Robert D. Austin, Lee Devin and Erin Sullivan
Business Insight
Accidents lead to innovations. So, how do you create more accidents? There are steps you can take to make innovation less accidental
The Future of Social Enterprise
The Future of Social Enterprise
Authors: V. Kasturi Rangan, Herman B. Leonard, and Susan McDonald
Authors: V. Kasturi Rangan, Herman B. Leonard, and Susan McDonald
- Full Working Paper Text
- Working Paper Publication Date: June 2008
- HBS Working Paper Number: 08-103
This paper considers the confluence of forces that is shaping the field of social enterprise, changing the way that funders, practitioners, scholars, and organizations measure performance. The authors trace a growing pool of potential funding sources to solve social problems, much of it stemming from an intergenerational transfer of wealth and new wealth from financial and high-tech entrepreneurs. They further examine how these organizations can best access the untapped resources by demonstrating mission performance, and then propose three potential scenarios, outlined below, for how this sector might evolve.
World Population Day Media Contest
Calling all youth bloggers, video producers, photographers, podcasters, or gamers who want to make a positive impact!: PARTICIPATE IN OUR LATEST MEDIA CONTEST ON www.ymex.org
What is the contest?
We are accepting all digital media entries (writing, videos, audio, games, or mashups) from ymex.org members that fit the theme, could educate the public or offer solutions on the issues around World Population Day. Entries must be youth-produced and fit into the ymex.org guidelines (found on the FAQ's page under the Community tab). Any ymex.org member can enter - just make sure your media is in English language (or provides obvious English translations). Two prizes will be awarded to media created by members under 18 and one will go to any member 18 or older.
What is the contest?
We are accepting all digital media entries (writing, videos, audio, games, or mashups) from ymex.org members that fit the theme, could educate the public or offer solutions on the issues around World Population Day. Entries must be youth-produced and fit into the ymex.org guidelines (found on the FAQ's page under the Community tab). Any ymex.org member can enter - just make sure your media is in English language (or provides obvious English translations). Two prizes will be awarded to media created by members under 18 and one will go to any member 18 or older.
Doing Business with the Poor
The report, Creating Value for All: Strategies for Doing Business with the Poor, written by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the framework of its Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative. It draws on 50 extensive case studies demonstrating the successful pursuit of both revenues and social impact by local and international small- and medium-sized enterprises, as well as multinational corporations.
Rafael Viñoly Architects
Rafael Viñoly Architects is awarding up to five grants of US$60,000 each for studies focused on transformations in the built environment within dynamically changing societies. Singular grants have been a vital components. Proposed projects should emphasize original research focused on any region of the world, though there is particular interest in studies addressing relevant issues in China, the Middle East, Russia, and South America. Study subjects might include new demands for housing and infrastructure due to urban immigration. Citizens of all countries are eligible to apply for the grants individually or as teams. http://www.rvatr.com/
Spark Awards
The Spark Awards competition has been created to promote great design and designers. Spark is about change—-designed change for the better. This change can be studied, researched, sustainable, contextualized or inventive. Graphics, product, transportation, and architecture are just a few of the many design categories accepted. Designers, art directors, architects, design firms, manufacturers, institutions, ad agencies, students, and novices are invited to this competition. http://www.sparkawards.com/
OECD: Malware
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently published a high level report on the state of malware and how it is affecting, and will affect, the Internet economy. Aimed mainly at policy-makers, the report is also good primer on malware and Internet security for non-technical readers.
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