The rapid need for information is a pressure that businesses face daily, and on Saturday, five University student groups unveiled presentations engaging some of the latest and most innovative ideas for the University campus and business communities at Technology for the Turnaround.

Technology for the Turnaround, hosted by the New Media Institute of Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications, included a keynote speaker from Turner Entertainment Networks, two-minute predictions by members of the media industry, and five presentations done by the groups of the New Media Certificate Capstone class.

These presentations included ideas about finding out about local music scenes, how to find your way around a new city, exploring U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuges in a new way, discovering new parts of the Georgia Aquarium and the ultimate event guide. Each presented a multimedia array of choices, including smartphone applications easily downloaded to any smartphone.

This last presentation, named “iEvent,” provides many new features on its smartphone application, including four main tabs of information.

“The live tab has the race updates,” said Wendy Hsiao, a senior speech communications major and member of the iEvent capstone team for the New Media Institute. Twilight Criterium, the nation’s largest nighttime pro cycling event, draws crowds so large that it often makes it difficult to see the race at all, Hsiao explains.

So Hsiao and her team have created the live tab, picture tab, video tab, maps tab and schedules tab.

The picture tab, Hsiao said, has pictures from previous Twilights and also updates during the race using a live STD card that sends pictures directly to internet photo-hosting site Flickr and then immediately to the application’s tab.

The video has short video clips of last years racers and a few from this year, and the maps tab updates the best place to find a restaurant having a drink or food special and at what time, where to find the most recent crash, restrooms, recycle bins, and more.

The final tab includes all the schedule details for the event, and links to the Twilight website for more information.

“There’s just so much to do,” Hsiao said. “Mainly the most important part is to know what exactly is going on.”

When asked about the possibilities for expanding this idea, maybe even to University football games, she said that the group would love to partner with the Athletic Association. In such a partnership, the application would hope to help fans find something to eat downtown after the game, when and how to find a cab, where to park or find the best tailgate, and other aspects of the University football weekend.