M.

Inspiration

We got inspired during the Haddad Bootcamp at NOVA, where other students first made us aware of the opportunity. We realized that we all love learning more about the places we travel to and enjoy visiting museums, but often felt frustrated by how little the experience delivered. As we started working together, it became clear that many museums have not adapted to today’s visitor expectations and still offer experiences that feel static, non-engaging, and disconnected from the deeper stories and connections behind the artworks. That insight became the starting point for M.

What it does

M. is an interactive audio guide that turns museum visits into personalized experiences. It adapts storytelling, context, and guidance to each visitor while generating real-time behavioral insights museums can use to understand engagement, drop-off points, benchmark performance, improve experiences, and react to visitor behavior.

How we built it

We have already been in talks with Câmara de Oeiras and with MUDE in Lisbon, and both are open to exploring pilot opportunities with us. Câmara de Oeiras is considering letting us test the prototype in Parque dos Poetas and Quinta Real de Caxias, while MUDE is discussing a pilot for a fixed exhibition with 10 artworks included in the guided tour. Based on these opportunities, we are still building the prototype, starting with the core visitor experience: personalized audio storytelling, interactive Q&A, quizzes, and simple navigation through a QR-based flow with no download required.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges has been the fragmented nature of the museum market. It is difficult to find structured information online, so understanding the space requires primary research and direct conversations with institutions. Another challenge has been finding the right pilot partners, museums are interested, but often have limited time, staff, and resources to test new solutions.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We validated the problem through 50+ visitor interviews and conversations with 5 cultural institutions and built the foundation of our prototype. We are now in talks to formalize pilot partnerships with MUDE Lisbon for a fixed exhibition with 10 artworks to be included in the guided tour and with Câmara de Oeiras, including potential testing in Parque dos Poetas and Quinta Real de Caxias. We also applied for the Hult Prize Competition and got into the next stage, so we´re going to Nationals.

What we learned

We learned that the museum space is far more fragmented than it appears from the outside and that many important insights simply are not available through desk research alone. We also learned that museums don't only need better visitor experiences, but also practical tools they can realistically adopt within their operational constraints.

What's next for M.

Next, we are continuing to build the prototype and explore first testing opportunities with Câmara de Oeiras in Parque dos Poetas and Quinta Real de Caxias. In parallel, we'll integrate MUDE’s exhibition content for a pilot centered on a fixed exhibition with 10 artworks in the guided tour. From there, we want to refine the experience and strengthen the analytics layer that helps institutions benchmark, improve, and respond to visitor behavior.

Built With

• canva
• claude
• lovable
• powerpoint