IBM’s SmartCamp is an exclusive program bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and experienced mentors who want to build a Smarter Planet. The programme provides access to world-class advisors plus a direct route to seed and venture capital.

SmartCamp is a global program which will be run in the following eight cities in 2010:

Stockholm (20 May); Boston (3 June); Tel Aviv (24 June); London (21 July); Silicon Valley (8 September); Paris (24 September); Copenhagen (7 October); and … Dublin (16 November).

Competition in each city is fierce – but there can only be one winner and the winners from each of the cities will compete in Dublin where one company will be named “The World’s Smartest Start-up”.

The program will be run on a city-by-city basis. In each location there will be four main phases:

1. Online submission
2. Applications reviewed and selected
3. Mini interviews (20 mins) for short-listed groups
4. Full day mentoring for the five selected companies concluding with a pitch and Q&A to a panel of industry experts and an invited audience.

Each shortlisted company will meet and have informal discussions with groups of experienced entrepreneurs, international VC’s and executives from large corporations. A total of 25 mentors will be split into teams of five, meeting each company separately for a 45 minute roundtable. The competition is more than half way through – with only three results not yet decided – Paris, Copenhagen and Dublin.

http://smartcampireland.wordpress.com/

At the close of the event, one company will be selected from each city and invited to SmartCamp week in Dublin in November … where one will be named “The World’s Smartest Start-up”.

WINNERS TO DATE:

May / Stockholm: MAKING WATER SAFE
Predect, with their real-time water detection, impressed the jury with their smart solution, fulfilling the criteria of being Instrumented, Interconnected and Intelligent.

June / Boston: COMBATTING COUNTERFEIT MEDICINES IN AFRICA
5 companies spent the day with 25 mentors. At the end of the process Sproxil impressed the judges the most. Their solution addresses the massive market of counterfeit medicine in the emerging markets.

June / Tel Aviv: REDUCE ELECTRICAL ENERGY USE
Panoramic Power is developing a very low-cost solution for precise monitoring of electrical consumption at the individual circuit-level. Their solution allows owners and managers of existing commercial buildings reduce the consumption of electrical energy as well as predict and prevent equipment failure, system overload and electrical closet fires

July / London / REALTIME PARKING AVAILABILITY DETECTION
Worldsensing is based in Barcelona and has developed some very small, robust sensors connected to small radios that can be connected to the Internet. The company estimates that urban motorists can spend up to 15 minutes searching for a place to park, but its technology gives real time information of space availability, so drivers can quickly grab a parking spot.

September / Silicon Valley: JUDGES COULDNT SEPARATE TWO COMPETITORS…
CareCloud modernizes the workflow in a medical practice to put physicians in touch with each other across multiple points of care, through a cloud computing technology-based solution.

Streetline uses sensors that allow citizens to find inexpensive parking fast while helping cities manage their parking resources more efficiently. Over 30 percent of traffic in cities is caused by drivers looking for parking.

Paris, Copenhagen and Dublin yet to come…