Could the next big idea come from a group of college students?

I’ve had the pleasure of visiting two schools recently to see their end-of-semester projects. Scott Shamp’s New Media Institute at the University of Georgia’s Grady School and Benn Konsynzki’s courses at Emory’s Goizueta Business School are brimming with fresh ideas.

At UGA, the focus this semester was on applications using Facebook’s API. The idea is to leverage existing code on the Facebook platform to create engaging ways to connect with customers.

The students worked on concepts involving four Atlanta companies: Delta Air Lines, Newell Rubbermaid’s Graco, Turner Broadcasting for Conan O’Brien and Home Depot. I won’t go into the concepts because of confidentiality, but Turner’s senior executive was impressed enough with the work that he committed to using it as part of their Conan promotions.

The presentations were, as one executive put it, “mature” in that the students understood most of the business restrictions and complications they’ll encounter after graduating.

But a big question remained about Facebook. Issues over the way Facebook has handled privacy as well as security concerns will likely hamper companies’ use of the API. Consumers are increasingly aware of the downside of sharing their personal information via Facebook.

Several of the students said “we didn’t care about that; we sign up for Facebook applications all the time.” The older adults in the room — those of us who have been in business for while — responded in unison: “wait until you’re out of college…you will care!”

At Emory, the eight teams presented their own mobile app concepts. While most were well planned, two of them in particular were useful because they relied on mobile platforms to work.

One team used GPS, a credit card attachment, a calculator that factored in the cost of gas and the Android platform to track a car’s route in real time giving carpoolers a way to determine their fair share of the tab — and pay for it on the spot.

Another team had a lofty purpose. It’s a way to help patients, doctors and hospitals manage clinical trials. For someone with a serious health problem, this mobile app represents an easy way to learn about nearby clinical trials. Health care professionals will use the app to manage the trials.

All this reminds me of 1995 when someone who could write HTML was considered a desirable hire. These students are entering a market that’s hungry for their skills, and colleges are rising to the occasion.