Students of Winchester School Jebel Ali who presented their product Atension, a wearable device to ease anxiety
Dubai - Third Arab Innovation Centre for Education Accelerator Programme begins
Published: Mon 30 Apr 2018, 5:36 PM
Last updated: Mon 30 Apr 2018, 7:49 PM
From anti-tailgating technology to a mobile farming solution to safeguard growing plants, student teams across the Gems network presented their startup ideas to a panel of judges as part of the Arab Innovation Centre for Education (AICE) Accelerator Programme on Monday.
Fifty young inventors across 20 student-led teams took to the stage to pitch their ideas to network with regional business leaders and investors during the Demo Day.
Now in its third edition, Michael Gernon, senior vice president and global head of innovation, research and development, Gems Education, told Khaleej Times two projects from past editions have actually been picked up by investors.
"After presenting their projects here, both projects received a host of interest and managed to secure investment. One team produced a sensor for the visually-impaired and the second team are planning to solve the region's refugee crisis using automated 3D printing to create liveable shelters. Both products are really impressive."
Over the past two months, the shortlisted teams have been provided with mentorship, training, and seed funding to develop their product and later this week the winning project will be announced.
The winning team will be announced on May 8 and will receive Dh10,000 and all other teams will continue to be given mentoring and support over the next 12 months.
Meet two teams pitching for success
Team 1
Product: ATension
Description: Wearable device to ease anxiety
School: Winchester School Jebel Ali
Team members: Archit Bhowmick, Adonia Joseph, Christian Leyson, Himani Dewitt, Anna Dulnuan, Advika Sharma
These six students have created a wristband which is linked with an app. Using a heart rate sensor, it can detect a spike in pulse and will accordingly trigger a vibration motor which acts to soothe and lower the heartbeat.
"Twenty per cent of the youth worldwide suffer with anxiety so we wanted to create something to help alleviate this," one team member told Khaleej Times.
Though the current prototype focuses on a spontaneous reaction to reducing anxiety, the team said with investment it can later look to add more products that will deal with tackling symptoms of anxiety in the long-term.
"We want to partner with physiologists to further explore this avenue as right now our product deals with the immediate reaction to panic attacks, it is not a treatment."
Tackling anxiety requires going to great lengths of treatment, medication and therapy - all of which are at a heavy cost. But ATension is a wearable device created to tackle the immediate issue in a cost effective manner.
"It includes a wristband along with an app that coordinates the response of all the components included in the strap. Atesnion calms down the user within a matter of minutes. It is also the cheaper alternative to other products and services, such as treatment, medication and therapy."
Team 2
Product: Vision Education
Description: A dedicated curriculum on a mobile application
School: Our Own English High School, Sharjah - Boys
Team members: Ahsan Nayaz, Soham Chawda, Manas Kandimalla
This three-member group is developing a dedicated curriculum to suit the needs of the 21st century student. Vision provides, among other things, a mobile application which allows children to learn at their own ease.
"I tend to go for a lot of debating competitions so have to catch up a lot on lessons, but I find reading a text book doesn't give me enough. We want to develop this curriculum because it's an update that is really needed today," Chawda told Khaleej Times.
Albert Einstein once said "change is the only constant", but Chawda said education has remained the same.
"The world around us has been steadily evolving, but the system that prepares us for this world, the education system, has not kept pace. Vision education gives the current education system the update it needs."
The curriculum will consist of level based learning, but will have Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistance and will also offer a Virtual Reality (VR) component too.
"The mobile application allows you to learn anywhere, at any time. The student also gets the opportunity to interact with a virtual environment pertaining to their subject and lesson using immersive virtual reality."
A flexible, futuristic and immersive curriculum, Vision means a student will have to master a particular level before moving on to the next.
"The mobile application also works for teachers by implementing an AI system to keep track of the progress of the students and what teaching methods work best for them, and offers practical experience too," Kandimalla said.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com
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