As I walked into the room at TechnovationMN‘s Appapalooza I was hit by Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty to Me”. Wait, my mistake….it was the intro to the group “Talk Nerdy To Me,” a team of young women from Great River School presenting their application to the crowd. They were one of many teams of girls participating in the weekend event that served as the culmination of the Technovation Challenge. As noted in Graeme’s recent post, for the past 12 weeks, teams have been working on mobile applications that satisfy real problems in the community. The afternoon highlighted apps that provide help with organizing for school, preventing sexual assault and natural alternatives to current health and beauty products. All of the applications from teams like Tech Leopards, French Toast Mafia, and Talk Nerdy to Me are eligible to win up to $20,000 in funding for further development. It was great afternoon filled with music, fun, prizes and technology. The girls conceived, developed, and pitched their applications. Most importantly, it presented an exciting environment for young women to become involved in technology and inspire them as entrepreneurs…with a social conscience.