2018 Results
The 2018 Nittany AI Challenge included representation, participation, and support from:
- 10 Campuses
- 16 Colleges
- 35+ Departments
- 58 Faculty/Staff
- 196 Students
- 8 AI/EdTech Companies
Phase One Winners
Ten projects were awarded $2,500 in seed money for the development of a prototype.
- Aspire
- Course Recommendation System Using Historical Student Course Enrollment and Performance
- FeelLike
- From Micro to Macro: Applying Machine Learning to Scale up Competency Based Learning at PSU
- Intelligent Prediction System using Emotion Classification
- LionPlanner
- Nittany AI Challenge (Mock Interview)
- Pathfinder: Recommending Course Pathways via Supervised Learning and Text Mining
- ProFound, A Professor Search Engine
- ResOpp: Research Opportunities for University Students
Phase Two Winners
Five prototypes were selected to receive $5,000 for further development of a minimum viable product.
Aspire
An application to help students map out their college careers by providing recommendations on experiences and skills needed to achieve their dream jobs post-graduation. Team members: Tyler Spagnolo (team lead), Shane Hepner, Isabelle Biase, and Dr. Montgomery Alger
From Micro to Macro: Applying Machine Learning to Scale up Competency Based Learning at PSU
A tool that integrates human and algorithmic (AI) grading capabilities to provide instant student feedback and reduce grader workload with an emphasis on evaluating digital badges. Team members: Emily Rimland (team lead), Victoria Raish, Jeff Rimland, Angela Demarco, and Arianna Scheidell
LionPlanner
A web application that simplifies academic planning by providing students with full, modifiable plans for all their semesters and consolidating all the resources and requirements they need for the process. Team members: Michael Roos (team lead), Quinn Verbeke, Thanh Tran, Matthew Mancini, Dylan Shoemaker, Christina Warren, Benjamin Proto, and Dr. Wang-Chien Lee
Pathfinder: Recommending Course Pathways
An application that uses machine learning algorithms to recommend effective course pathways, learning from past course enrollment and the performance data of other students. Team members: Dr. Dongwon Lee (team lead), Thai Le, Yiming Liao, and Jason Zhang
ProFound, A Professor Search Engine
A solution that retrieves all of the information publicly available about a professor and intelligently categorizes and populates it into a portal that students can access to search for a professor by name and/or research area. Team members: Shaurya Rohatgi (team lead), Neisarg Dave, Mukund Srinath, and Dr. C Lee Giles
Phase Three Winners
The final phase of the Challenge concluded on September 5, 2018, when the final five teams presented their minimum viable products (MVPs) to a panel of judges. Three teams were chosen to receive funding from the remaining $50,000 pool of funds.
- LionPlanner – $30,000
- ProFound, A Professor Search Engine – $10,000
- Aspire – $10,000
Learn more about the 2018 Challenge finalists.
Past Results
Learn about the 2017 winners.
