Thirty student teams have been selected as semifinalists in the 2002 MIT $50K competition, which opens the door for potential entrepreneurs to receive funding for business ideas. The contest, conducted by the MIT Entrepreneurs Club and the Sloan New Ventures Association, will award $30,000 to the student team with the best business idea and strategy, with $10,000 going to two second-place winners. Winners will be announced on May 15th.

Most of the contest entries were technology-based businesses that range from unique networking equipment to software for the pharmaceutical industry. Among the semifinalists are teams that have created technologies such as an electric pen that communicates with desktop software, software that improves the ability of biosensors to detect chemicals, IP voice- and content-billing systems, and data look-up hardware that improves the capacity of enterprise storage systems.

With more altruistic intentions, Amir Hasson and his team have created DonkeyNet, which will set up low-cost data-delivery systems in developing countries. The company proposes setting up kiosks in village centers, from which people can connect to an Internet service provider and exchange data. Carlos Garcia Armando, a senior at MIT and member of the DonkeyNet team, says that his heart is in this project because it reaches out to provide services to people across the world. "I come from Mexico so I know how people will feel about using something like this," says Armando. He says DonkeyNet will first launch in India, where there is demonstrated demand.