“Our collaboration is truly what made us successful”: MMI team takes 2nd place in ICUBE’s ArtificiaI Intelligence Innovation Challenge
“Growth happens when you push yourself to try new things,” says Daphne Molson, a Master of Management of Innovation (MMI) student whose team recently won second-place in ICUBE’s annual Artificial Intelligence Innovation Challenge in February.
Molson, along with fellow MMI students Khadijah Hashmi, Josephine Ku, and Jade Wright, joined forces to compete in ICUBE’s event, where teams pitched ideas for a chance to win a share of $10,000 in prizes. The competition required the four members—named Team AIvolution—to develop a real-world, AI-based solution to a real challenge being faced by a partner organization.
This year, the competition partner was Weston Forest, a manufacturer and distributor of lumber and lumber products across North America, who also happens to be based in Mississauga, Ontario. “It wasn't just about theoretical AI concepts,” says Molson, emphasizing that the team was especially drawn towards the opportunity to “develop a strategic, AI-solution that could have an impact on [Weston’s] operations.”
The foursome utilized knowledge gained from their master’s courses and applied it to the challenge in innovative ways. One example they focused on involved kiln drying operations, which directly impacts both costs and inventory management in the industry. The team came up with a “neural network model,” says Molson, which “predict[s] demand fluctuations for kiln dried product, enhancing inventory alignment to meet market needs.” The team felt their model, which rested on both simplicity and flexibility of integration, was valuable in a space where artificial intelligence is a new topic of discussion.
Molson equates the idea to grocery shopping. “If you don’t know how many people are coming over for dinner,” she says, “you might buy too much food and waste money, or too little and run out. Businesses face the same problem with inventory and production planning.”
Thinking critically about this problem, the team also developed an AI-powered forecasting model. It’s “like a smart shopping assistant that looks past grocery habits, weather, and upcoming events to tell you exactly how much to buy.” They applied the same thinking to Weston’s supply challenge – a creative idea that landed them in second place overall.
Both students and partners like Weston benefit from competitions like the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Challenge: “The value of these partnerships cannot be overstated,” says Ignacio Mongrell, Assistant Director of ICUBE. Speaking about the MMI team, Mongrell remarks how their “ability to leverage AI in a way that demonstrated both technical expertise and business viability” was truly impressive.
Molson and the AIvolution team credit collaboration, a willingness to step outside their comfort zone, curiosity to explore unfamiliar concepts, and team communication as the key ingredients in their win. “The best ideas,” Molson says, “come from working in a diverse team that prioritizes open communication and embracing challenges together.” They also highlight Professors Dan Goetz, Nicholas Mitsakakis, and Kevin Yousie for their guidance and support, along with the MMI program for equipping students with the strategic and analytical skills to tackle real-world business challenges, bridging the gap between technology and industry innovation.
