6 Students + 6 SAP Developers = 3 Very Cool Mobile Apps at SAPPHIRENOW Orlando 2013

Back from an amazing week at SAPPHIRENOW Orlando 2013! I had an packed week filled with customer and partner meetings and new technology experiences. I have lot to share but I want to start my updates with this blog.

Deep in the heart of the SAPPHIRE jungle, I found the 2013 University App Rumble! I met 6 amazing students who made some really cool mobile apps. Each group of 2 students were asked to take a design thinking approach to their mobile app and incorporate both SAP Mobile Platform and SAP HANA.  Their ideas could fall under any SAP Industry, and could be business or consumer focused. Kudos to Jennifer Frank for managing this incredible program.

These brave students went before a panelist of SAP judges and presented their mobile applications. I was fortunate enough to sit through their presentations and grabbed some time with each group after the judging was complete.

I sat down with finalists Amanda Lopez and Mitchell Grewer from Grand Valley State University to talk to them about their ‘Short Shop’ app. These students worked with  Vivian Liu and Yanislav Mihaylov to design and build their Grocery App, “Short Shop”. As a foodie and grocery shop planner, I love this app and my favourite feature is the tracking of what is already in your cupboards – this would save me from having 10 jars of Pataks Mild Curry Paste and no Vindaloo! Check out this interview to hear more from these talented young professionals.

Next I interviewed April Zeng and Mingbo Gong from the University of Southern California about their ‘Dine Right’ app. They collaborated with Ruchi Aswal and Frank Neumann to design and build a Restaurant App, “Dine Right”. As I mentioned before, I am a foodie and love to eat out in Toronto. A feature that I love in this app is the personalization of dining suggestions and nutrition goals – for example the ‘Do You Really Want to Eat that? It will go Straight to Your Hips’ audio alert when you scan a fatty snack like potatoe chips – talk about mobile enforced will power. Watch the video below to learn more about these impressive students and their mobile solution.

Last, I was able to grab the Grand Prize Winners Daniel Sanchez and Gary Longoria from San Francisco State University to chat about ‘Advanced Diabetes Management App.’ These students worked with John Astill and Jeff Cadow to create the mobile app that could actually change lives! I was blown away by this solution that was tailored for diabetics and the design is open and could be used to manage other diseases. This solution hit home with me as my grandmother was diagnosed with diabetes in her early 80s and struggled to manage her disease until her death. Furthermore, I was impressed by Daniel who started using Sybase Unwired Platform, now SAP Mobile Platform, a few years ago to build mobile apps.

I applaud these students for their amazing work and the SAP developers for their support to the program. It was a privilege to be included in the

2013 University App Rumble!