Six FIU students found themselves grinning ear to ear at last week’s AI Cross Advisory Board meeting, where Dean William G. Hardin awarded them with the prestigious Academic Excellence Award for their outstanding performance in the Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Battle of the Brains competition, a 24-hour innovation challenge sponsored by global accounting firm KPMG.
Their innovative solution to a real-world business challenge earned them recognition as the team with “Best Deliverable” among the 18 competing universities.
“We're really proud of your determination, your tenacity, because you have a heavy workload and you still persisted,” said Karlene C. Cousins, chair of the Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics. “You’re being recognized within the HSI community as representing the excellence that FIU is committed to and dedicated to, in terms of ensuring that our students can perform at the highest level.”
The team, consisting of students Lucia Barreiro, Valeria Bobadilla, Jennifer Divantoque, Piero Espinoza, Serina Lopez and Mateo Zapata traveled to the KPMG Lakehouse in Orlando last October to represent FIU.
They didn’t choose each other; they were strategically selected by FIU mentors to complement each other’s skills. Divantoque had a dual major in finance and international business, Barreiro brought expertise in accounting and business analytics, and Espinoza had the technical know-how for building the AI-integrated website required for the competition.
The team’s project, titled Breezeway Pro Gear, centered on creating sustainable solutions for an outdoor apparel and equipment company. Through hours of brainstorming, the students shifted their focus from extreme sportswear to addressing the needs of outdoor workers, particularly construction workers vulnerable to prolonged sun exposure in Florida.
“Florida ranks second in the nation for melanoma cases,” explained Lopez. “We wanted to create apparel that’s not only durable but also protects workers and raises awareness about the dangers of sun exposure.”
The proposed product line included UV-protective, sustainable clothing made from recycled materials, enhanced with wearable UV sensors developed in partnership with an innovative Swiss startup. The sensors would track UV exposure and connect to a mobile app, enabling users to monitor their sun safety.
“We not only learned a lot during the competition but also had the opportunity to network with companies like Apple, Dell Technologies, Amazon and eBay,” said Bobadilla. “It was an unforgettable experience.”
The team hopes their success will inspire other students at FIU and HSIs nationwide to pursue opportunities that blend innovation, sustainability and social impact.
“Most of us had never been in a competition like this,” Bobadilla said. “It pushed us to grow as professionals and taught us how to see things from different perspectives.”
For them, the experience wasn’t just about winning. It was about learning to work together, growing as individuals, and building friendships that will last far beyond the competition.
The students were grateful for their mentors Gladys Simpson, teaching professor of information systems and business analytics, as well as Carrie Sanchez and Jesus Arias, both assistant teaching professors of information systems and business analytics.