By: Srimayi Tenali
Saying bye to these students and this school was probably one of the most emotional things we’ve ever done.
Our time at Amman Academy was broken down into 7 days of teaching, following by a 3-day hackathon. School officially started for them on January 16th, so instead of lessons from 10-2, the students came after school from 3-5 to work on the Hackathon.
After watching and working with these kids for the past 2 weeks, we were sure that they would come up with amazing ideas. So the prompt we gave them was nice and broad, because we really wanted to let them be creative and explore!
The mission: design and prototype something that improves life in Amman.
With a budget of 100,000 JD, the students were to both build a rudimentary prototype and develop a plan of execution to pitch to potential investors (us). And as always, they went above and beyond! The classes split into 4 main groups, and here are the ideas that were pitched at the final presentations:
iCarbonate, a silicon-tube meant to be inserted into a car’s exhaust pipe. Catalyzes CO2 emissions into less harmful components that can be recycled.
meat and eat, an app that connects people who typically eat lunch alone with one another. Provides a way for individuals to connect and network with people they normally may never meet.
Solar Distillation, a plan for house and sea models of solar distillation to supply Amman and Aqaba with clean water. Purifies rainwater.
CarPule, an app that rewards individuals for healthy lifestyles (recycling, carpooling, taking public transportation, etc.) via a QR code scanning system. Individuals earn points (called CO2) for healthy actions, and can cash in points for gift cards and bonuses at local restaurants and shops.
The presentations were all very engaging, and it was refreshing (and funny) to watch students grill one another on the feasibility of their plans. For some, the focus was on investment plans (what percent equity, and for how much?), while others focused on the science and technology that would make their idea possible. A highlight: CarPule refusing to sell any percent of their company to Headmaster Ibrahim!
In the end, we awarded 1st place to CarPule and 2nd place to iCarbonate, but we had a really hard time deciding winners! We concluded by passing out photos, notes, and certificates to each student. The night before, we had written each student a personalized message wishing them the very best, and all of that reflection just made us really sad to part with the students.
This batch of students will always be special to us because they’re the first people we’ve ever taught. Moreover, they have the most incredible interests and backgrounds. Several students are avid MMA fighters. One takes apart and builds everything he can get his hands on. One loves gaming so much that he codes games in Unity in his free time. A few are very artistically talented— some with plans of going into design, some just having fun and making things for themselves. Two students have been studying German for years. One student taught himself coding in a few different languages. Two students turned a standard Arduino lesson into a project where they coded their speaker to play Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You. A whole group of them worked on designing pop-up shelters for the homeless or for refugees.
Honestly, it was our privilege and honor to get to teach these students. Meeting them was life-changing for us, and we are beyond excited to have gotten the opportunity to know them.
But it wasn’t a total goodbye! We connected with a lot of students via Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. We told them to come visit us in Boston — we’d love to give tours, help with the college process, and just keep up to date on their lives. Here’s hoping they take us up on the offer!
Post-hackathon class pic below:
