EduLink

Application submission
Login screen
Result screen
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Inspiration:

When we met as co-founders and shared our experiences applying to Penn, Berkeley and Bocconi, we quickly realized our common pain point in education funding. We missed scholarship deadlines, did not provide sufficient information, and encountered various application issues. Some of us are first generation students, who managed to access private education only by the chance of discovering the existence of scholarships. The problem is real and has huge social implications as this information asymmetry is bigger in low socioeconomic backgrounds; yet, this target group is the one who would benefit the most from funding opportunities. Secondly, looking at the empirical literature, there is evidence that college education is the biggest factor in the intergenerational wealth transfer. In short: if you are poor, college is what can save you the most; better put: a scholarship can change your life! According to Statista, ~60-70% of education funding is underutilized every year due to these issues. We want to make this "market" more efficient between students and funding providers to increase access to education for everyone.

What it does:

EduLink verifies/aggregates application data (background, transcripts, and more) to generate a unique student NFT for easy processing. Parameters of data collection is customized across all funding types (scholarships, fellowships, awards, grants, etc.) and funding providers (public and private) as we continue to develop the product. Each NFT will be a dynamic repository with real-time data.

How we built it/challenges:

We had to figure out how to integrate NFT minting which chainlink functions, as well as how to integrate AI technologies with blockchain in a decentralised and efficient way and make it user-friendly.

What's next for EduLink:

We are excited to grow through market expansion and new product development (across funding provider and award types). This includes a strong go-to-market strategy, allowing us to gain regulatory foothold across certain public providers like FAFSA in addition to private providers. In ~5 years, we aspire to be the "FICO" of the education ecosystem.

Demo-only video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr5xClV9USs Pitch video: https://youtu.be/eCk5y3GfZ3E