#gee16

This week, our team embarked on another series of customer interviews to understand the needs and pain points of university students. We interviewed students from various disciplines and academic levels to gather insights into their university experience. Through these interviews, we discovered a common desire among students for a centralized platform to streamline academic planning, facilitate collaboration, and provide access to resources and support services.

We developed the hypothesis that students would gain from an all-in-one app that combines academic planning, peer support, feedback mechanisms, career services, a student organizations directory, campus navigation, collaboration tools, and an event calendar based on the insights from the interviews.

Findings:

Students' enthusiasm for such an app, emphasizing the efficiency and ease it would bring to their campus life, verified the theory. Features including the ability to create study groups, access academic materials, an event calendar, a configurable academic planner, and career services were stressed as being crucial. They also liked the concept of the app's built-in feedback and peer assistance systems.

One significant decision the team made last week was regarding the design and layout of the app. We had two options: a minimalist design with a clean interface focused on essential features, or a more visually appealing design with additional graphics and animations.

We ultimately opted for the basic design after giving it considerable thought and gathering input from possible users. We concluded that simplicity was essential for an app that sought to maximize output and effectiveness. Users would be able to access functionality more quickly and without visual overload with an interface that is devoid of clutter, which would also facilitate navigation.

University students from all academic levels and disciplines participated in a number of in-depth customer interviews that we conducted early in the development process. The purpose of these interviews was to learn about the needs and trouble spots that students had with their time at university.

Based on the insights gathered from the interviews, our team formulated several hypotheses regarding the features and functionalities that would most benefit students. These hypotheses included assumptions about the demand for features such as study group formation, career services, and campus event calendars.

We discovered that the assumptions about the need for study group creation and career services were validated through iterative testing and feedback loops. Students indicated a great need for resources to enhance career development and to enable networking and collaboration. But based on input from early prototypes, a few theories about particular features—like peer support and counseling—needed to be further refined.

In the previous week, our team made a crucial decision regarding the integration with Learning Management Systems (LMS) for accessing course materials and other academic resources. The team had two options: to develop custom integrations for each LMS platform used by universities or to prioritize integration with the most widely adopted LMS platforms such as Moodle and Canvas.

Following a thorough evaluation of available development resources, market research, and early user feedback, the team decided to give integration with Moodle and Canvas top priority. Universities utilized these systems extensively, guaranteeing optimum accessibility for students and lowering development and maintenance complexity.

Upon the commencement of the new semester, we were introduced to our new subjects and instructors, GEE 16, The Entrepreneurial Mind, twas quite an introduction given by Mister Tangonan, our instructor, who gave a fresh start and briefing on what to expect and what we will be discovered along this subject.

He elaborated that turning ideas into action with unrelenting enthusiasm and commitment is one of the hallmarks of the entrepreneurial mentality. Entrepreneurs are doers with the motivation and tenacity to turn their ideas into reality; they are not just dreamers.

He told us to think not a student but an engineer entrepreneur.

We had the good fortune to select our group members in advance of the semester. Our task was to interview people at Central Mindanao University to ascertain the most common problems that the community faces. In a group of five, we discussed our target market and came up with interview questions.

We started the interviews the following day by placing ourselves in key spots on campus, including the Education Building, CAS Extension building, CAS Main, and CAS Annex. Our goal was to interview over thirty individuals in order to guarantee a sizable pool of responses. In the end, we had 35 answers from the people that took part.

From our findings, we gather three majority problems encountered by students, 1st CMU geographical size. 2nd transportation inside the campus, 3rd Garbage segregation.

We agreed and proposed our initial solution to create an application that is designed to enhance the university experience for students by providing a centralized platform for academic, social, and personal development resources. It aims to streamline various aspects of university life, from academic support to campus events and networking opportunities.

Recognizing the problem that students often struggle to find relevant information about academics, the university navigation, organizations, and events, resulting in many missed and wasted opportunities. Also, without proper collaboration, students would prefer isolation, further limiting their resources.

(◠‿・)—☆

Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend so far, so I'm back once again for another chitchat with you. The last two weeks was such a blast considering the semester's about to end and we'll be moving on for our last year in college. We're all so busy but really excited at the same time.

Today's blog is about my GEE 16- The Entrepreneurial Mind journey for the last two weeks. So last week, we attended a lecture series program by the business management department. Three speakers shared their knowledge and expertise to us wherein we were able to learn a lot from.

On April 19, 2023, the Business Administration Department of Central Mindanao University conducted its semestral lecture series at the University Convention Center-CMU. As someone whos currently taking the subject Entrepreneurial Mind, we are required to join the lecture. So for this blog, expect my takeaways from that program.

The announcement for this program is kind of late, so yeah, we don't have that much time to prepare for it. We actually don't have that much idea what will happen on the program, and we are all super drowsy because of the early call time🥹.

We arrived at the UCC at 7 a.m. because we were told to, but what a bummer that the program starts at about 8 a.m🫠. Anyway, the first speaker is Dr. Gameleila A. Dumancas, and her topic is mainly about the importance of protecting our intellectual property and why we should register our innovations and businesses. She also included jokes and hugot on her discusion which is kinda helpful because again most of us are supper dowsy that time because of lack of sleep and we havent even eat breakfast yet. It's actually kind of hard to focus at that time, so at that program, Im literally fighting myself to not sleep and just be a responsible student huhu.

The second speaker, Prof. Sheila Poonon, arrives, and her topic is incubating innovation. She discusses the opportunities that we may have in doing start-ups, which are mostly related to the first speaker's topic.

And now for the last speaker, Ms. Keren Happuch Lacadin. Her topic is the start-up ecosystem, and by this time, not gonna lie, we just really want this to end, just look at my classmate at my back😭😭, but anyways what makes it interesting is that she didn't discuss that much about what the start up ecosystem really means but rather told us about her experiences in this.

For this lecture series, what I have learned most is to be patient and resilient. I will never forget when Ms. Lacadin told us about her experiences building her name in the startup ecosystem. She'd gone through ups and downs, mostly downs in the beginning. but that is really different from what she is right now; she uses those downs, turns them into lessons, and applies them as a guide to her current goals. This experience of hers gave me hope in what Im doing: to just be resilient because your time will come. Sometimes time will not follow you the way you want it to, but you do have a time, and that time will come when you're ready and if you already deserve it.

As 21st century learners, we have been labeled as innovative, creative, advanced, and operative in this new era. Young adults are capable of starting their own businesses that are feasible for success. The subject of entrepreneurial minds is a subject that helps students cultivate and forge the ability to think realistically and practically in the business world. The developing skills of the students can be a tool for being the catalyst for positive change that can make the industry more thriving.

Entrepreneurship is the process of creating or seizing an opportunity and pursuing it regardless of available resources. The products produced in the market have their own various branding and uniqueness depending on their purpose. Given the existing products and data for specific services, products, apps, etc., there is always room for improvement. To attain such, we, the entrepreneurs, must first have an idea generator process so that we can point out the problems, solutions, business models, and how they would be more advantageous to the customers. One highlight idea I could remember is the distinction between customers and consumers. We can call a customer if he is someone who purchased it regardless of who used it, while the consumer is the one who used it regardless of who bought it.

Upon embarking this journey towards being an entrepreneur, it was always a constant battle between understanding the needs of the people and having the sufficient resources to be able to compensate to these needs the people wants. As an aspirant, one must realize the responsibility an entrepreneur plays in the society which is not being a contributor to the local economy, but also a responder to the pleads of the people.

While approaching the Final Pitching, a series of emotions had surge within us, which mainly includes excitement and anxiety simultaneously. Upon reviewing the comments with our initial pitching and proposal, it was a great reminder for us that we still have a lot to work on. Some of the comments were directed to our finances should be broken down properly, how much profit we should set as a goal to attain within the end of every month, how the product should be advertised, and lastly, how to ensure that the advertisement means that were to be used are to be effective especially in the long run for the business.

With thorough reflection and understanding of these words coming from the panellists, the group once again huddled together and recalibrated new ideas up to the board. Moving on, we talked about what we need to change, improve, and remove in the initial plan for the start-up business. To begin with the final planning of the start-up, the team decided to meet up and assign each one with tasks so that the minimum amount of time for improvisation is attained.

To further elaborate the decided plan, the team had concluded to continue with the variety of foods that were to be provided, the means of the product would be produced, the ingredients that are to be used, and the key resources/partners involved within the start-up. The things that were improved would include the delivery methods that are to be utilized (which is instead of delivering it via walking, we would be using a bicycle to be able to deliver around the campus), the price of the product in generating greater income (where instead of Php 25.00, the price would be set to Php 30.00 to compensate proper ratio of profit to capital), the scope of the business (where instead of covering only the CMU-CON and University Hospital, but also for nearby colleges to cover larger population for possible customers) and the advertisement means (which is to include physical verbal advertisement and not only limited to posters and flyers, and online/ social media). These are the hypothesis definitions that the group has deduced upon total consideration of the deliberation with the panellists.

To test the hypothesis that were raised, the Final Pitching had been looked upon, the team had prepared their intellect, their materials, and their wit to answer the questions possibly thrown by the panellists. At a glance, the product may seem overly used but little do they know they are about to witness something that the university needs; an answer to a problem that each of one overlooks. Here, we presented the totality of our product, from target areas and ingredients to be used to the finances and expenses that are to be taken. Upon assessment, the panellists were thrilled and gave us the validation we need. In this way, hypothesis testing, in its own means, was approved and attained.

With the options that were in the line for the team as well as the decisions that had come along with these options, the team was able to break it down to what the start-up business was meant to be. Each of the team members were very glad and contented with how it all came about. By hearing the pleas and opinions of each, we are able to sum it up to a collective whole. We know, in some little way, we are able to leave something to the panellists and co-aspiring entrepreneurs which is to really be vigilant in looking out for problems, and responsive to those alarming ones especially those who could have a significant effect in the long run. With all of these, the team has finally envisioned to entirety of the business through laying out all the possible options, and picking out the best ones.  

Furthermore, this is not the end. We still had one task to go. This task was the finishing touch to what we’ve worked for in GEE-16, although could be a disguised beginning for an opportunity for us if we are all willing to partake. Upon deciding the theme and overall outcome of the video that we would like to present for our product promotion, we had come back to our roots, where the start-up all began, thus we decided to come up with a heart-warming, mouth-watering, and reality-reflecting video in doing our final project. Here, we showcase our product, its ingredients, its benefits, and its allocation in the university. It shows how our product could play a big role in the university and its people. The complete concept of the video was agreed fairly by the team thus executed was well and properly.