DeVry names Senior Project Showdown winners
DOWNERS GROVE - DeVry University and its Keller Graduate School of Management recently announced the winners of the fourth annual Senior Project Showdown, a national competition in which students apply skills and expertise from their fields of study to solve real-world business challenges.
This year's top projects were the Car Seat Alarm, Unconventional Deli and Cropnostics.
The competition, for undergraduate and graduate students in their final semesters, encourages classmates to collaborate on innovative ideas and creative solutions to local business problems. Each student group submits a short video demonstration and description of their work.
"At DeVry University, we empower students to explore real-world scenarios through curricula and experiences that take them outside of their day-to-day coursework and into the business world," said Donna M. Loraine, Ph.D., chief academic officer and provost of DeVry University. "We are continually impressed by the creativity students use to apply their education, evaluate actual business challenges and create solutions to overcome them."
A panel of DeVry University faculty and staff chose the top 10 projects, which were then further evaluated by representatives from companies including AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Microsoft and Adobe. The top three were ultimately selected by public voting.
This year's top three Senior Project Showdown projects are:
• First Place - Car Seat Alarm: Created to prevent infant heat stroke, Car Seat Alarm uses a microprocessor and wireless communication technology to detect when a child is in the car seat. A custom sensor activates a key fob alarm if the fob goes out of range or a specified time period elapses. The students designed the custom flexible sensor system to be compatible with any child car seat and to use a battery that recharges through the car's power outlet. Car Seat Alarm is easy to install and use in any car seat in order to protect a child, and give peace of mind to parents and caregivers.
• Second Place - Unconventional Deli: Unconventional Deli was designed to help local restaurant, Deli News Pizza, increase revenue, gain new clientele and seize market share. The students conducted market research and used it to create ways to improve point-of-sale interactions and reporting, increase social media presence and market catering packages to surrounding schools and office buildings.
• Third Place - Cropnostics: An all-in-one data gathering Android app to aid in crop farming, the portable, self-sufficient system monitors soil moisture and temperature levels, rain, ultraviolet sunlight, wind speed and ambient air temperature to help farmers and gardeners monitor crop health in real time. Cropnostics can be accessed remotely from any Internet-connected device, with data presented on a user-friendly dashboard through which the user can perform trend analysis to determine when the crop needs attention.
The top three student teams received cash awards ranging from $500 - $2,500. The first place team also received a one-year Adobe Creative Cloud membership.