The Ideathon: Sparking Innovation at the University of Houston

At the heart of Modo lies our mission to nurture hands-on learning and offer real-world experience through student engagement programs. One shining example of this vision is the Modo Ideathon—a 24-hour hackathon-style event that challenges students to create mobile app ideas and prototypes to enhance the user experience of their Modo-powered campus app.

Over the course of 24 hours, students must rapidly bring their conceptual designs to life, developing a prototype that is then presented before a diverse panel of judges. The judges evaluate the projects and decide the winning teams based on UX, utility, and their creative use of the Modo platform’s tools to execute their ideas.

Through the Ideathon program, universities receive invaluable feedback from students about their campus app experiences and what can be done to improve them. Participating students also receive training and real-life experience working with the Modo Labs platform, and of course, cash prizes.

UH’s University Information Technology took the lead and sponsored the event in collaboration with Modo, bringing on other partners to ensure that the Ideathon was a huge success.

Here’s how the contest went down:

• 56 teams submitted project ideas. 
• Ultimately, 6 teams, made up of 21 students, were selected to participate. 

Over 200 students eagerly applied to participate in Ideathon, showcasing a clear desire among students for these types of engaging events and activities on campus.

The ideas fell into several categories, including:

• Academic
• Campus life
• Career services 
• Auxiliary services
• Mapping 
• Marketplace 
• Mentoring
• Social Networking

Many of the submissions addressed recurring themes experienced by students, including issues related to mental health, finding resources on campus, connecting with their peers, and food.

The competition began on Friday evening, setting off a frenzy of innovation among participants that lasted through 5 p.m. on Saturday. The teams prepared presentations for the judges, who scored the app ideas based on their UI/UX, demand, and marketability.

The three-person team, dubbed CoogDevs, won the entire event with an innovative app called “CougTutor.” The all-in-one app unified all of UH’s tutoring departments, offering students streamlined access to tutoring schedules and allowing for direct communication with tutors. For this innovative design, CoogDevs was awarded a $2,500 cash prize.

“Participating in the Ideathon was an exhilarating journey that pushed us to our limits, and ultimately proved to be incredibly rewarding. This wasn’t just about winning, it was about collaborating, learning, and innovating together as a team by not only making a tool that we believe will make a real difference to UH, but by also gaining invaluable skills along the entire way,” Simrat Clair, Seth Smith, and Halis Yuksel, members of CoogDevs, said.

Team LatinoTech nabbed second place for their app “UH4U,” a resource for students seeking out mental health services and support, specifically tailored to the unique challenges faced by first-generation students from low-income backgrounds as they adjust to life on campus.

LatinoTech took home a $2,000 cash prize for their design but left behind an incredibly more valuable solution for making first-generation students feel better while navigating the hectic college lifestyle.

The number three spot was awarded to the Bytesters team, who designed “Campus Quest: Engage, Earn, Excel.” The app transforms campus life by rewarding students with points for attending events that can then be redeemed for discounts. The solution not only incentivizes engagement but also fosters a sense of community and belonging among students. For their hard work and creative design, the Bytesters took home a $1,000 prize.

While the other teams may not have won the top prizes, their designs were still inventive and incredibly useful. Super DIGM Bros created “CoogEats,” a mobile app that offers students a comprehensive, up-to-date list of food options nearby and on campus and lets them rank them.

Those Guys created “Student Reviews,” an app where users can review restrooms and vending machines, rating them on their cleanliness, variety of offerings, and more.

Another team, Bush Coogs, created “Campus Marketplace,” a local marketplace that allows students to sell their used school essentials, e.g., textbooks and dorm supplies, and gives other students the ability to buy them at a more affordable price.

Each prototype contributes to creating a better connected, supportive, and engaging campus experience; embodying Modo’s core mission of empowering students to play an active role in their university’s digital and educational landscape.

David Johnson, Assistant Vice President for Technology Services and Support, touched on the rare opportunities that programs like Ideathon provide students and their ability to create groundbreaking ideas:

“Our trusted partners in business recognize that our students are the workforce of the future and activities like Ideathon24 give the students an opportunity to collaborate, build self-confidence, and develop leadership skills they cannot learn in the classroom.”

Johnson continued: 

“I am always amazed at how motivated and inspired students become when presented with opportunities to improve their community and how fearless they are when it comes to developing innovative technology solutions. You can do as many focus groups as you want, and survey the community seven days a week, but if you truly want to understand a problem and develop transformative solutions, all you need to do is give a room full of students some powerful tools and a license to be creative.”

Ideathon is just one of the numerous programs that Modo offers to engage students. Last summer, Modo hosted its annual SEED program, a six-week paid internship designed to inspire the next generation of mobile app innovators and prepare them for a career in tech. 

Short for Student Engagement Experience Dojo (SEED), the program rewards interns with an Modo technical certification upon completion. This certification not only gives them the knowledge and ability to implement hyper-personalized features but empowers them to drive wider adoption of their university’s app.

The program also serves as a talent pool for creative students to intern with some of Modo’s higher education customers. After finishing the program, these students go back and push the boundaries of innovation on their college’s mobile apps.

Want to spark innovation on your campus by hosting an Ideathon? Want to enroll a student in Modo’s SEED program? Contact your CSM today!