Ilitch School students help team earn first place in STEAM Challenge

https://ilitchbusiness.wayne.edu/news-images/upw_wsu-steam_20190325_066.jpgThe Mike Ilitch School of Business would like to congratulate two of its students for being part of the winning team in this year’s Wayne State University STEAM Challenge—a pitch competition where interdisciplinary student groups come together to bridge STEM disciplines with the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Kayla Tripp (marketing) and Malik Mattan (global supply chain management) partnered with two other WSU students, Afree Fatima and Campbell Culling, to introduce DiscoverMi, a platform that challenges negative stereotypes about Detroit by encouraging tourists and locals to explore the city’s hidden gems in an augmented reality app that provides users with rewards and challenges to keep them wanting to learn more about the city.

Six teams were given 10 minutes to pitch their ideas and show how they best fit this year’s theme of the challenge, “Energize Detroit: Energizing the city by empowering mental and physical fitness and well-being.” Participants were tasked with identifying a real-world problem or issue that affects the city and then challenged to suggest an idea for a project-based solution that uses and interdisciplinary approach.

While officials initially planned to award $10,000 to the top winner, $3,000 for the second-place winner and $1,000 for the third-place winner, Provost Keith Whitfield surprised all attendees by adding another $5,000 award, allowing four teams to take home prize money to help turn their ideas into a reality.

To learn more information about this year’s competition, visit the Steam Challenge website.

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