Berkeley Mobile International Collaborative

The Berkeley Mobile International Collaborative (more commonly known as BMIC) is a California-based, nonprofit corporation that focuses on encouraging and promoting entrepreneurship in mobile app development by university students worldwide as well as collaboration between industry and university students. BMIC organizes and hosts the annual University Mobile Challenge, which is run in conjunction with the GSM Association at the annual GSM Mobile World Congress event. The first University Mobile Challenge was held on February 14, 2011 in Barcelona. Teams of students representing eleven universities from seven countries competed in the event.
Origins
BMIC was based on a class introduced by Ken Singer, a mobile tech entrepreneur and lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley in 2008. Taught as part of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (CET), the class focused on a practical approach to entrepreneurial education. Students in business and engineering were integrated into diverse teams with different skill sets and were told to build a "company" around an idea for a mobile application. Throughout the course, students would present their "company's" vision, then prototype a product, write a business plan, and develop a marketing strategy. At the end of the course, the student teams presented a demonstration of the product as part of a "pitch" before a panel of industry experts and venture capitalists, which selected the "company" that had progressed the furthest and had the greatest chances for success. The class was not only popular among students but also resulted in a number of new businesses that were created by students.
In 2010, spurred by the success of the UC Berkeley class, Singer was joined by Paul Nerger, an entrepreneur with experience in mobile technology, and Bill Washburn, a seasoned executive director of nonprofits as well as an educator, decided to create a nonprofit that would replicate this same model to universities around the world. Within the first year, more than fifty universities expressed interest in the program. Some of the initial universities include:
BMIC name
The Berkeley Mobile International Collaborative name was chosen with due consideration. "Berkeley" reflects its origins in a class held at UC Berkeley. "Mobile" reflects the nonprofit's focus on mobile internet technologies. "International" asserts its scope as an international initiative. And "Collaborative" describes its goal of fostering collaboration between among student team members as well as among disciplines, universities, and industries.
Sponsored Events
University Mobile Challenge
At the annual, international University Mobile Challenge, competition takes place among BMIC-sponsored teams from member universities around the world. Participating universities are free to determine how they will select their best team. The best team from each participating university may also compete at a national level if the universities within a nation decide they need another level of competition. The international competition is held by BMIC.
The first University Mobile Challenge was held on February 14, 2011. Eleven teams from seven countries were represented:
* École Centrale Paris combined with École Polytechnique from France
* École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (ESSEC Business School) from France
* Florida State University from the USA
* Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur from India
* King Saud University from Saudia Arabia
* Politecnico Milano combined with Politecnico di Torino from Italy
* Stanford University from the USA
* Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich from Switzerland
* Tsinghua University from China
* University of California at Berkeley from the USA
* University of Michigan from the USA
Future Events
BMIC might initiate other University Challenges in the future and will announce these as they are launched.
Company history
2010
*Company formed and initial recruitment of member universities
2011
*On 14 February 2011, BMIC held the first annual University Mobile Challenge in Barcelona in conjunction with the GSM Association's Mobile World Congress. Eleven teams from seven countries competed in the event
Sponsors
2010-2011
*GSM Association, Ltd
*NAVTEQ, Inc.
*Nokia, Inc.
*Sprint PCS, Inc.
*Standard Chartered Bank, Inc.

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