Hackathon 2019

To create a tool to help Indy Achieves students at Ivy Tech navigate the complex course scheduling process, reducing barriers to a successful start in post-secondary education. A solid solution would equip students to synthesize necessary core classes, degree requirements, course availability, professor ratings, and balance school obligations with personal and professional time commitments.

How might we streamline and transform the process of choosing courses to schedule an informed decision for Ivy Tech Students?

Defining Problem Space:

By 2020, 62% of jobs in Indiana will require some form of post secondary credential, yet just 42% of Marion County residents currently have the requisite high-quality credentials. To close this gap, the city would need an additional 215,000 adults with a job-ready credential.
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The gap of economic mobility is due to the following reasons:
i) too few students enrolling at post secondary institutions
ii) too few students completing post secondary credentials
iii) too few adults skilling up & completing industry-recognized certifications

User Journey

There were many audiences to consider, including 21st Century scholars coming directly out of high school into college, to adult learners who are looking to gain new skills for a changing job market.The Future Outlook

Who are Indyachieves?

The mission of Indy Achieves is to ensure Indianapolis has the requisite talent supply to support the available local careers by piloting, evaluating, and scaling proven practices that improve post secondary access for Marion County youth and adults, improve post secondary completion for all students enrolled at IUPUI and Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, and improve alignment and placement in careers with purpose and value.

We had the privilege to use the data collected by Indyachieves and to work beside to create a course scheduling tool for the AT&T &Indy Chambers Hackathon.

So where was the problem?

‍It was found that there was a dearth in the number of students who enrolled into post-secondary education and retained themselves until the end of the course. Primary research showed that this is happening due to the lack of knowledge of the course beforehand and the possibilities afterwards.

‍'Students enrolled into the course without knowing what it is about or what to gain out of it and were also facing difficulties in choosing the course relevant to the job they were seeking.'
-Student recruiting assistance, Ivy Techs.

Through the Hackathon conducted by AT&T and Indy Chambers, we assisted Indyachieves and Ivy Tech Community College to develop a mobile application to know the prospective of a class before taking it, to filter course based on the job they're seeking and to schedule the classes efficiently.

Ideation

As it was a 12 hour project, we got into prototyping quickly.

Prototyping

Reflections:

This was the first Hackathon which I have worked on. Working with developers gives you the insight about how the design is to be directed for better results and collaboration.
Though Hackathons can focus mostly on technology and coding (except for UX Hackathons, that is), there is a great need for design talent when designing and building out project demos, as well as presenting to judges. Sometimes it can feel intimidating for new designers (like me) to participate in these kinds of events, especially if they have had little exposure to working on a technical team. But it is important to move past your fears and forge ahead.

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Hackathon 2020

In 2017, 2.1 million individuals sought treatment for opioid addiction in the US. Design an experience to help address the problem. Our Informed HMW Statement:How might we help sponsees (Opioid users seeking help) efficiently communicate with their sponsors?

We Won second Prize in this one and currently the prototype is being developed. Please contact for details