TRSM student to represent Canada in Red Bull Basement University Competition
A TRSM student’s project helping fellow students find study space on campus has been chosen to represent Canada at the Red Bull Basement University competition in Berlin.
Temirlan Toktabek, a 4th year TRSM Global Management Studies and Entrepreneurship and Strategy student, and his collaborator Anna Pogossyan, a 4th year OCADU Environmental Design student, created Vacant: The Real-Time Occupancy Information to tackle this problem.
Red Bull Basement University is a collaborative platform for students to innovate, collaborate, and drive change on campus through DIY-based technological solutions. Drawing from 16 countries and 300+ universities, the project calls on young innovators to improve life on campus by tackling issues head on.
Toktabek and Pogossyan wanted to save students time and reduce their stress of trying to find the perfect study spot on campus. Their creation, Vacant, is a series of processors and motion sensor detectors that allow students to see real-time information on desk availability and room occupancy around campus.
Space occupancy data would be accessible through campus LED displays as well as a mobile app, helping students save time – whether they are planning ahead of time to study or faced with an immediate decision in the Student Learning Centre (SLC) elevator.
Projects submitted to the Red Bull Basement University Competition were voted on on-line in late October and the top-voted ideas moved on to the judging panel. Vacant beat out other competitors from across the country to represent Canada in the global competition taking place in Berlin at The Red Bull Basement University Global Meeting from November 29 to December 2, 2018.
Until the Global Meeting, Vacant is undergoing prototyping phase in Red Bull offices in Toronto. With the help of Red Bull’s vast mentorship network, as well as funding and allocated workspace, Toktabek and Pogossyan have a month to bring their invention to life and present it in Berlin to a panel of international experts with a potential of future investments.