Pegasus Connect

An online learning platform that is bridging educational barriers and igniting futures in STEM for underrepresented young girls & non binary student between the ages of 11-17.

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Inspiration

We've observed a consistent pattern in the communities we've lived in and those we hail from that despite the widespread integration of STEM, young female & non binary student of color continue to be underrepresented. This observation extends to school districts and communities, highlighting a persistent absence of women in tech academically, particularly in middle and high schools where limited classes are offered. The challenges are multifaceted, ranging from societal discrimination to financial constraints and the stereotypes that women aren't generally interested in entering tech. This education gap hampers their academic growth and limits future career opportunities. This inspired us to think about Pegasus Connect, a free online learning platform that connect students to volunteer tutors, and resources, creating an immersive, tailored STEM learning experience. Pegasus Connect is that safe & inclusive space for underrepresented young females and non binary student to learn about STEM, breaking down barriers and making learning accessible.

What it does

Through our web app, students take a gamified quiz to understand their current knowledge and or skill level of a particular STEM area, and based on the assessment, Our algorithms then matches them with dedicated tutors in their area of interest. This initiates a personalized learning path where students interact with the tutors in 1-2-1 or small group tutoring sessions through the community spaces. For those with limited Internet access, the app enables loading resources offline ensuring accessibility for all.

How we built it

We built the web app using React, Express, Node.js. The backend was written entirely in my SQL and deployed HTML (+CSS) for our frontend. Design prototypes were done in Figma.

Challenges we ran into

Learning new languages and frameworks, along with the time constraint, posed a couple of obstacles during the project development. One of our teammates encountered internet downtimes, making it challenging to push out codes in a timely manner. Despite being based in three different global time zones, we successfully coordinated syncs and touch points to complete the project. Lastly, we faced challenges in connecting the database/server to the frontend/client, preventing us from showcasing the website's full functionality. However, each component is finished; we just need to establish the connections.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We survived our first Hackathon and we created a simple user-friendly, intuitive interface.

What we learned

We learned how to ideate and build a product under rapid fire. Additionally we learned how to integrate an HTML web app with a backend MySQL database. Finally, we learned how to do it afraid, everyone on the team was participating in a Hackathon for the first time. We leaned into our individual strengths while working cohesively as a team.

What's next for Pegasus Connect

We would like to further refine the idea and possibly pilot an MVP.

Team Members

Emma Unuode (Project Manager, Grad student in Business innovation and eBusiness @ Birkbeck University of London)

Emma was the Project Manager and oversaw all aspects of the project. This included guiding the team and keeping everyone on board with our main idea and meeting deadlines. She prototyped the designs in Figma and worked on project abstract outlining problem, user requirements and product features.

Pooja Garlapati (Frontend Engineer, Computer Engineering Major @ Louisana University)

Pooja worked on the frontend of our project. She made sure that this was a great resource for our final presentation that would demonstrate what our app can really do.

Derinell Rojas (Backend Engineer, Computer Science Major @ Boston University)

Derinell worked on the backend of our project, assembling the database to determine the optimal method for collecting relevant information and matching students with tutors. She also helped to ensure the completion of all aspects of the project and aided in technical difficulties.

Alaa Ahmed (Frontend Engineer, Recent Grad student in Engineering @ Alexandria University, Egypt)

Alaa, another frontend engineer, was responsible for creating the landing page of our web application.

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