Buddy – KPMG Ideation Challenge 2021
Connecting Educators to Students, so that Students Can Disconnect
Representing KPMG Canada on the Global Stage
January – April 2021
My Role
Product Owner, Business Analyst
Team Members
Maya Bobotis, James Xu, Reda Ouazzani, Giulia Mulligan
Tools Used
GSuite (Docs, Slides, Sheets), Google Scholar, Adobe Photoshop, Figma
Introduction
KPMG’s Ideation Challenge is an annual event that brings together brilliant minds from across the nation to interact with peers and work together in developing a innovative solution to a real world business problem. This year, our solution was focused on preventative mental health efforts within the educational industry through the use of an intuitive digital application.
This 4 month long adventure consists of two main parts: Ideating and Competing
The Team
The KPMG Canada Team 🇨🇦
Challenge Overview
This year the KIC prompt we were presented with was as follows:
“Create an advanced technology
solution that helps an organization
or industry of your choice overcome
or leverage the impacts of the global
pandemic.”
As the pandemic rages on, Covid-19 brings a huge opportunity for growth and acts as a catalyst for change (positive and negative). Our objective was to come up with an innovative idea to pitch to venture capitalists in order to obtain funding.
After various discussions with mentors and experts, we decided to focus on one specific industry and tackle a big yet feasible problem. We molded our prompt into the following problem statement: How can we promote positive mental health amongst youth by leveraging technology within the educational sector?
Target Market
Based on a detailed analysis of mental health and a multitude of industry friction when it comes to adopting technologies, we decided that our expertise and impact are best used in the education industry, specifically that of secondary and primary education.
Through our research, we found that the total market consists of over 5 million people, and even before the pandemic, mental health has always been an extremely prevalent yet under-addressed issue with too big of a “reactive” rather than a preventative focus. Numerous studies point to negative mental health outcomes at an early age to be a detriment in adulthood.
Furthermore, we noticed the education system has more or less been the exact same with little change. We aim to disrupt the industry, by putting preventative mental health at the forefront of the curriculum.
Key Stakeholders/Users
Based on a detailed analysis of mental health and a multitude of industry friction when it comes to adopting technologies, we decided that our expertise and impact are best used in the education industry, specifically that of secondary and primary education.
Students
Students are simply hurting. Everything in the world is seemingly going against them in the Covid-19 environment. Students need human connection and adequate mental/physical stimulation.
Educators
Educators such as teachers and guidance counselors are overwhelmed as they are constantly balancing individual student’s needs with that of the whole class, which has proven to be incredibly difficult in a virtual environment. Educators are drained emotionally.
Parents
Parents are tired and overwhelmed by having to be full-time caregivers and part-time educator. They deeply care about their child’s future but want to be able to focus on their own careers at the same time.
Design Process
In Progress…
KIC Global Pitch
Pitch deck used in the final pitch at the Global Round of KIC, judged by KPMG partners from around the globe.
Analysis Justification
Key Performance Indicators
Our KPIs are mostly focused on product performance and financial sustainability.
Conclusion
To conclude, I am honored to be able to work with other talented individuals in representing KPMG Canada on the global stage. This ideation challenge really forced me to really think outside of the box whilst leveraging my technical know-how, teamwork, and design thinking skills.
Moreover, this opportunity really allowed me to grow my professional network, as I was able to see amazing competitors present there creative solutions, and speak with them as well as KPMG managers about their vision and motivation.