Contact the Problem Lab
Mathematics and Computer Building, room 2057
University of Waterloo
519-888-4567, Ext. 36421
Monday, May 11, 2020
While we are now into the first week of the new Spring 2020 term, we are happy to say our Winter 2020 First-Year Residence Problem Pitch winners have been selected. Changes due to COVID-19 meant the competition finals switched from a packed space in a Residence building, hosted by our partners at UWaterloo Housing, to competitors recording their pitches for a virtual panel of judges. After thorough post-pitch Q&A’s, and careful consideration on the part of the judges, two amazing teams emerged as the First-Year Residence Problem Pitch winners!
Each of the finalists have demonstrated tremendous research and command of their chosen problems but only two winning teams that showed the greatest understanding of their problem space could be selected. The judges chose teams who presented the best understanding of their problem’s scale, context, history and analysis of failed attempts at solving it.
We are pleased to name the following teams as First-Year Residence Problem Pitch winners!
Team Yeehaw
The problem:
In-car technology has become a major threat to the safety of elderly drivers.
The team:
Abhay Chitta, Accounting and Financial Management
Evan Chen, Accounting and Financial Management
Ubelejit Oyet, Civil Engineering
It doesn’t matter if your idea has no direct relation to the faculty you are in. What matters is that you research something that you are passionate about and want to find a solution to.
If there's an issue that you find compelling, this competition gives you plenty more reason to go ahead and learn more about it.
SignSpeak
The problem:
Lack of Assistive Technologies for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
The team:
Dalton Bown, Computer and Electrical Engineering
Musa Huq, Computer Science
Shaishav Patel, Computer Science
Tirth Shah, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering
The First-Year Residence Problem Pitch is a great way to begin your entrepreneurial endeavors in an area important to you. We have learned creative design processes and critical evaluation skills that will be invaluable in future pursuits.
Thank you to all our finalists who continue to demonstrate the impressive capabilities of our first-year students, and our friends at UWaterloo Housing that support students through this and many more initiatives.