Cultivating the next generation of DOers is a top priority at Lenovo, which is why we partnered with the National Academy Foundation (NAF) to send 18 high school students to the NAF’s annual professional development conference, NAF Next.

The event, which took place in Washington, D.C. this July, gave students the opportunity to present the mobile apps they created as part of a mobile app curriculum pilot program and competition Lenovo launched with the NAF in January.

The contest challenged students from high schools across the United states to develop a working wireframe. Many teams also created business plans and implementation schedules for the Android-based mobile applications they created.

To help implement the program, Lenovo provided a package of technology products to each school, including Android-based ThinkPad Tablets and large format ThinkCentre HD desktops, among other items.

 On July 18, the winning teams presented their mobile apps at the 2012 NAF Next Conference.

 “We’re amazed at how these students rolled up their sleeves to create some truly impressive mobile apps,” said Michael Schmedlen, worldwide director of education.  “By enabling them with the right technology and framework for learning, these doers demonstrated their creativity, programming skills and entrepreneurship.”

The winning projects include:

Apex High School (Apex, NC): Shop Local Raleigh
Academies of Information Technology at Grover Cleveland High School (Queens, NY): Find Your Way  – apps for people with disabilities using public transportation, Staying Fit, Come – a Dominican food recipe app
Pathways to Technology Magnet High School (Hartford, CT): Social Onion (a professional networking app)
Downtown Magnets High School (Los Angeles, CA): Recycle It, Encryption app, Moosh app (create your own flash cards), U.S.O. app – the ultimate student organizer
A.J. Moore Academy of Information and Technology (Waco, TX): KiwiPad (a text to sound app)