After months of students working hard and polishing their projects, the JagStart judges had come to a consensus, and the crowd had voted.
The JagStart competition is an annual event where students from IUPUI showcase product ideas, business ventures, or answers to social problems in an elevator pitch style competition. If students win, their ideas can become a reality.
Abhinav Sikharam came one step closer to seeing his project, Project Ma, become a reality when he became the winner of JagStart 2020.
Sikharam, who is pursuing a master’s degree in human computer interaction, was working on a project as part of his curriculum when he realized the potential for a way to market his idea to consumers.
“We started doing some user testing throughout the university, and through that user testing, we found some key insights, and we found that people were really interested in the product,” said Sikharam.
Sikharam’s project was a smart desk gadget that works to keep people who traditionally work desk jobs healthy, active, and hydrated because sitting for hours every day can lead to sedentary lifestyles. To do so, the desk gadget changes colors to alert its user when it is time to stand for activity or to drink water to stay hydrated.
