Spring 2020 Convergence Innovation Competition Closes with Virtual Finale

Innovations in health and wellness, student experiences, and the global COVID-19 response were all recognized during the finale of the Spring 2020 Convergence Innovation Competition (CIC). The Institute for People and Technology and the Research Network Operations Center announced the winning projects live online on April 15.

Now in its 12^th year, the CIC is an opportunity for Georgia Tech students to create technology products, applications, and experiences in categories determined by campus, industry, and community partners. Each fall and spring semester, they work individually or on teams to submit projects.

“The CIC is always one of my favorite events each year,” said Beth Mynatt, executive director, Institute for People and Technology. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate the innovation of our students and recognize the partnerships that we have at Georgia Tech and in the broader community.”

Previously, IPaT and RNOC hosted the competition’s finale at our Centergy Building location in Midtown. But with the coronavirus pandemic and a transition to remote learning, the CIC team pivoted to a virtual format for spring 2020. Students had an additional week to submit competition materials, including a demonstration video to anticipate judges’ questions, which they would typically answer in person.

“It’s been inspiring to see the dedication, determination, and agility demonstrated by the students given the challenges that they faced,” said Matt Sanders, co-director, Research Network Operations Center.

Judges reviewed each submission online and scored them through a secure, electronic platform. Here are the winning projects in each category:

Create and Perform

First place - TeamSpot is an app that helps students form teams by providing detailed personal profiles, skills, experience, and other information. (Team: Amiel Berchenko, Ruiyang Qin, Jayden Sun)

Second place - AirNotes is the first 100% Siri-based note-taking app for hands-free notes. (Team: Tiffany Hsieh, Michael Koohang, Will Said, Ashley Tan)

Health on the Move

First place - GymSplat is an app that reduces congestion at the gym, creating a more comfortable and productive workout environment. (Team: Anshul Ahluwalia, Kimia Kavanroodi, Maksim Tochilkin, Filipp Zakharchenko)

Second place - GT Mental Health App helps Georgia Tech students discuss minor mental health concerns, receive support from other students, and learn about Tech’s mental health services. (Team: Michael Ditto, Chris Draper, Matthew Wang)

CIC organizers also announced a special Global Response award, which recognizes students whose projects addressed the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global Response

First place - Food4me helps users find the perfect nearby restaurant to accommodate them no matter their dietary restrictions. (Team: Benjamin Holmes, Kalyani Prasanna Jagdale, Guneet Khosla, Malarvizhi Vasudevan)

Second place - StoreStash offers a gig economy where Georgia Tech students with extra storage space can take in items and make money passively while their peers save money compared to conventional storage units. (Team: Michael Chen, Kunal Sharma, Gabe Wilson)

CourseShop (Team: Yuhang Li, Rahil Patel, Jiayi Ye), a platform for helping students to prioritize and select college courses, received an honorable mention award.

In addition to their CIC win, the team behind Food4me also received a “golden ticket” to participate in this summer’s CREATE-X Startup Launch 2020 and further develop their application. The program helps Georgia Tech students to advance their projects from the idea stage, or beyond, into fully functioning and viable startups.

CREATE-X, Georgia Tech’s Global Change Program, and the Georgia Tech Athletic Association were partners for this semester’s competition. Verizon Wireless, a 5-year sponsor of the CIC, also supported the spring 2020 competition.

The CIC is open to current Georgia Tech graduate and undergraduate students, and those enrolled in the Institute the previous semester. Learn more about the competition, including sponsorship opportunities, on the CIC website.