A winning “Ediya”: MSIB student snags top prize for remote education in international hackathon

As COVID-19 accelerates the worldwide shift to online learning, teachers are struggling to motivate disengaged students remotely. Enter Ediya, a solution wherein teachers can create daily challenges for students to earn points in exchange for rewards.   

The innovative idea recently won the top prize of Hack the Crisis Netherlands in the Remote Education category. The challenge was how to use gamification to effectively transfer knowledge to online education. The brains behind the solution were the members of Team Challengly, which included Shane Marie Landicho, Master of Science in Innovation and Business (MSIB) 2021 student, and the only Philippine representative in the multinational team. 

“The MSIB program has helped me gain a wider perspective. It has taught me to look at the bigger picture and focus on the goal and objective on hand. This is the main contribution that I brought to my hackathon team, ‘Challengly’,” Landicho, MSIB 2021 student remarked. 

The 15-month, part-time MSIB degree program kicks off with an intensive two-week Innovation Overture to set the tone for students’ innovation journey with AIM.  “The Innovation Overture as well as the lectures broadened my skills and supplied me with the necessary foundational skills to identify the pain points of our target user, the teachers and students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” Landicho added. 

AIM’s Master of Science in Innovation and Business (MSIB) program is tailor-fit for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Architecture / Agriculture, Medicine / Math) graduates who want to manage and design innovations whether in a corporate or start-up setting. 

“With the strong foundation and knowledge base, we were able to create a solution by utilizing my knowledge and experience in the health care and education industry. Because of our collaborative efforts, our product Ediya’s unique selling proposition was its ability to solve both the psychosocial aspects and the academic aspects required in learning and apply it into a remote setting,” Landicho concluded.  

Hack the Crisis Netherlands is an online hackathon focused on finding solutions for patient care, protection for medical and sanitary staff at hospitals, virus containment, and digital solutions for people and businesses in quarantine. Over 55 entries were submitted to compete in four categories: Healthcare & Wellbeing, Remote Education, SME Business Continuity, and Logistics & Supply Chain. 

Team Challengly members, include: 
•    6 active full-time members: Jasper Deprez (??), Phil Wornath (??), Venla Elovaara (??), Shreya Sharma (??), Tom Peeters (??), Shane Marie Landicho (??)
•    2 supporting members: Morteza Abbaszadeh, Liliana Araiza
•    2 mentors: Merel Ritsma, Lionel Exposito
•    Supporting Mentors: Maryama Marong, Ahmad Waquar, Audrey Rochas

MSIB is now accepting applications for the 2022 cohort. To learn more about starting your own innovator’s journey, please visit aim.edu/msib or contact Ms. Cherrie Ruby Magbanua at msib@aim.edu.