mSchools launches the 6 best apps designed by secondary school students onto the market

• Professional developers from Inqbarna, Fewlaps, and Slash Mobility will work with the students to turn their application prototypes into realities
• Through the App Contest 125 students from Catalonia presented the applications they designed this 2013-2014 academic year for the “Let’s Mobilize Computer Technology” course
• The winning apps were a tool for schools, a tourist guide for Les Garrigues, a virtual closet, a compilation of information for skateboarders, and solutions aimed at children and the elderly
• The Education Secretary of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Irene Rigau, and GSMA CEO John Hoffman underscored the strong implementation of the program in classrooms

June 6, 2014

The mSchools educational program recognizes the 6 best apps designed by 4th-year ESO students in Catalonian schools. From a final selection of 25 projects devised for the course “Let’s Mobilize Computer Technology”, the apps ‘Estudis BCN’, ‘Turisme Garrigues’, ‘Armari Virtual’, ‘LongSchool App’, ‘LifeBud’ and ‘DivertiApp’ won the first mSchools App Contest. The prize for the winning teams is the opportunity to work with professionals from Inqbarna, Fewlaps, and Slash Mobility to develop and launch onto the market the prototypes that they built in the classroom.

The App Contest, sponsored by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, took place this afternoon at the TecnoCampus in Mataró. The event featured participation by more than 125 students from Catalonia, their teachers, and professionals in the sector. The 25 finalist teams presented their projects to the public in a dynamic exhibition space, where they demonstrated and explained the design and creation process behind their prototypes. To convince the judging panel of their applications’s potential, the young developers also addressed the functionality and feasibility of their projects on the market, drawing upon their knowledge of the business environment acquired in the “Let’s Mobilize Computer Technology” course.

After touring the students’ exhibition space the Education Secretary of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Irene Rigau, praised the strong implementation of the mSchools program in Catalonian classrooms, which is linked to the core digital competencies developed over the course of the year. GSMA CEO John Hoffman highlighted the students’ entrepreneurial spirit and praised the engagement of startups and professionals with the mSchools project.

mSchools is a pioneering global initiative designed to encourage Catalonia’s high school students to work in the classroom with mobile technology through the creation and use of mobile solutions. Backed by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, in collaboration with the Regional Government of Catalonia, the City of Barcelona, and GSMA, mSchools is intended to improve students’ academic performance and reduce dropout rates. The programme features complete curricular development related to mobile technology and its applications in the social and economic spheres.

Mobile World Capital presents a global vision that effectively integrates mobile technologies into the fabric of the industries transforming our lives. Committed to expanding the mobile experience throughout Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain with strong support of the public and private sector.

mSchools apps: from prototype to reality

The App Contest’s judging panel, which determined 5 of the 6 awards, was formed by John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA; Christopher Pommerening, co-founder of Active Venture Partners; Xavier Bertolín, Director of Land Management and Educational Action with Obra Social ”la Caixa”; Simon Lee, founder and CEO of Incubio; Josep Valero, co-founder and director of Barcelona Loves Entrepreneurs; Patricia Remiro, manager of Edutech Cluster; Pere Rosales, founder and director of IИUSUAL; Josep Fernández, vice-director of Promotion and Communication with the UPC; Jordi Vivancos, head of the LKT Area of the Generalitat de Catalunya; and Laurence Mourasse, general manager of GSMA Ltd., Mobile World Capital Barcelona. The sixth prize was chosen by popular vote.

In addition to the opportunity to have their apps professionally developed, the six teams of award-winning students and their teachers received a Kano educational kit with all the components to build a computer and acquire basic coding skills. They also won tickets to Port Aventura.

List of categories and awards

• Management of personal life and lifestyles – award bestowed by Mr. Miquel Rey, councilor for economic promotion and innovation of the City of Mataró, and president of the TecnoCampus Foundation. Winning school: INS Torre del Palau (Terrassa). Application: LifeBud.
• Leisure – Mr. Fernando Aldecoa, General Director of Port Aventura. Winning school: INS Ernest Lluch (Barcelona). Application: Armari Virtual
• Communications – Mr. Xavier Bertolín, Director of the Area of Land Management and Educational Action for the Charity Division of Obra Social ”la Caixa”. Winning school: Collegi Sant Miquel (Barcelona). Application: LongSchool App.
• Use of local services – Mr. Josep Ramon Ferrer, Director of Smart City & Deputy CIO of the City of Barcelona. Winning school: INS Josep Vallverdú. Application: Turisme Garrigues.
• Educational Applications – The Hon. Ms. Irene Rigau, Education Secretary of the Generalitat de Catalunya (regional government). Winning school: IE Roseta Mauri (Reus). Application: DivertiApp.
• Public vote – John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA. Winning school: INS Sant Just (Sant Just Desvern). Application: Estudis BCN.

The first year of mSchools

mSchools, an initiative backed by Mobile World Capital Barcelona in conjunction with the Generalitat de Cataluña, City of Barcelona, and GSMA, with the App Contest celebrates the first year of the program’s implementation in Catalonian secondary schools. More than 6,000 students from 200 secondary schools participated during the 2013-2014 academic year in the “Let’s Mobilize Computer Technology” course, in which they devised and developed apps. The students enjoyed support from nearly 200 professionals active in companies such as Incubio, Softonic, Social Point, King, Catalunya Apps, Appszoom, Appstowin, Barcelona Loves Entrepreneurs, and A Crowd of Monsters, who served as mentors on their projects.

mSchools is a groundbreaking initiative, unique in the world, intended to encourage Catalonia’s high school students to work in the classroom with mobile technology through the creation and use of mobile solutions. The objective is to enhance their skills in the digital environment, reduce school dropout rates, and improve academic performance.