Optimeyez: The Next Best Step
Yesterday we were united in nervous laughter as we rushed through our first task as a team: building a spaghetti tower. Today we are united as passionate interns learning the many challenges that come with building a business and technical solution that has potential to improve lives. Tomorrow we will be united in joyous tears as we proudly present our summer's work to executives in New York City.
Our first month of Extreme Blue has flown by, leaving us excited, exhausted, and in awe of the summer to come. Bringing four diverse sets of experiences to the table, we've learned so much from each other and our unique definitions of a successful team. We hope to build lasting friendships, practice strong design and presentation skills, and create a product with a future. The IBM Business Automation team challenged us to build an adviser that would address client's lack of knowledge in how automation can transform their businesses. With our goals and problem statement in mind, we invented the one... the only... OPTIMEYEZ!
Here's a little more about our product:
There exists a clear need for a tool that can analyze business workflows and identify where inefficiencies occur as well as how they can be optimized. Introducing Optimeyez, a cognitive rules engine that collects user data and intelligently recommends automation opportunities. By encouraging a digital workforce, this product will empower the workflow owner to save time and better allocate resources, thereby increasing overall business productivity.
But Optimeyez wouldn't exist without the team behind it! Meet Rishav (our business intern), as well as Awn, Selena and Grace (our three technical interns). Seen from left to right, holding our very own team mascot, Liz!
Rishav is quite the tech evangelist and takes pride in being an early adopter. Combining the best elements of art and technology is something he aspires for, each day of his life. Rishav is currently completing his MBA at the Schulich School of Business, where he's the Managing Director at the York Consulting Group, Canada's largest business school consulting group. He also has a masters in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology. When he's not day-dreaming about the next big product which will change the world, he plays tennis or binges on Netflix. He is a life-long wanderer, having travelled to 24 countries and has also been a Radio Jockey in the past.
Awn is a fourth year Mechatronics Engineering Student at the University of Waterloo who is passionate about optics, metrology, and the role engineering has to play in the medical field. You can easily pick Awn out of a crowd by simply looking for the most hair, chances are that's Awn. Having a vested interest in the well-being of undergraduates and a passion for policy writing has led Awn to be heavily involved in almost all aspects of student life at the University of Waterloo. Most recently, Awn has been elected as the undergraduate representative for Waterloo's Strategic Action Plan Committee (SPAC) and is currently on the Engineering Federation Orientation Committee (EngFOC) as he plans orientation week 2018. Learn more about Awn and his journey here: AwnCreations.com !
Selena is most likely the EB intern persuading people to take a group photo or holding a stuffed animal to stay calm before Dragon's Den. A third year computer science co-op student at the University of Waterloo, on an adventure to discover the power of technology, understand the human mind, and do everything with a big heart. (Cheesy, but true!) She is passionate about programming, UX design, artificial intelligence, creative writing, scrap-booking, public speaking, yoga, and piano. You'll rarely find Selena alone - she loves people (supposedly more than dogs, but that's a tough decision). So if you see her around, don't be shy to ask her about the novel she's writing, the time she worked in healthcare software, or the many countries she's visited... but beware - once you get her talking, she may never stop! Haha.
Grace here is the actual tumblr user on this team (and thus, the resident introvert). You can find her staring at fandom blogs with a gleam in her eyes when she's not doodling. As a Computer Science and Economics double major student from the University of Toronto, you can expect her to know the memes you quote. But hey! That's what powers her creative engine. She loves spurting out random ideas what will perhaps bring the team in a new direction, and sometimes notices the tiniest details that will matter in the end. If you see her, make sure to wave or nod at her and watch her stare at you confused but greet you back because she is awkwardly polite like that.
So, what's in store?
After receiving constructive feedback from our mentors, peers, and Dragons, we hope to take Optimeyez in a direction that personalizes results per business and generates a new revenue stream for IBM. Our excitement lies in the potential application of various machine learning models to transform the tech from a magical idea to a tangible reality. You can support Optimeyez for 5 small donations of your time by listening to our pitch at Dragon's Den 1 & 2, the Ottawa & Canadian Expos, and the final pitch in New York. Be sure to give a 5-star rating if you ever come into contact with the product. The next best step is in your hands. Choose Optimeyez.
