Around the Schools: School of Engineering & Applied Sciences

A team of Harvard students has won the grand prize in AT&T’s Big Mobile On Campus Challenge, a national higher-education contest to develop mobile communications platforms. They won for creating the “Rover,” an application that connects students with each other, their university, and the surrounding community.

The campus tool was developed by Harvard undergraduates Alex Bick ’10 (engineering sciences), Joy Ding ’10 (computer science), Drew Robb ’10 (physics and mathematics), Cameron Spickert ’10 (computer science), and Winston Yan ’10 (physics). The team members are splitting a $10,000 scholarship, and each of them was awarded a trip to the EduCause Annual Conference in Denver.

The core of Rover is a guidebook, enhanced by location-awareness and social-networking features to tell students what is happening around campus, spotlighting store deals, events, news, and transportation options. Rover is unique in having a live feed of deals to connect local businesses with students, creating interactions that allow for greater integration.

The application previously won top honors in the 2008 I3 Harvard College Innovation Challenge.

The Big Mobile on Campus Challenge for full-time college students and staff was established in 2008 to recognize innovative and creative mobile applications that enhance academic performance, build campus community, and improve school operations.