The AI ​​created by Peruvians that is helping schoolchildren to find their vocation

For a teenager in his last years of high school, the choice of career and the university to which he will go is part of a challenge that he must face when he is barely 16 years old. For this reason, young Peruvians used the technology of the artificial intelligence (AI) to create ‘QueEstudiar’, a software that is changing the way students discover their vocation.

It is a platform that helps students to know their strengths so that they have a motivation to continue learning. This project made Mayra Lázaro, the creator of ‘QueEstudiar’, one of the winners of the awards for the 36 Innovators of Latin America 2022 of MIT Technology Review in Spanish. His invention has been used for years as a vocational guide in Peruvian schools.

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“To start with the project of ‘What to study’ the key question was ‘how do we want the transition process from a school student to the university to be?’, and from there this idea was born. The main objective is that, through artificial intelligence, young people feel accompanied and guided in the discovery of their future careers”indicates Mayra Lázaro in an interview with Trade.

Mayra Lázaro, winner of one of the Innovators Under 35 LATAM 2022 awards with her project ‘QueEstudiar’. (Photo: Diffusion)

How does this artificial intelligence system work for students?

this tool provides the school, students, psychologists and parents with the necessary elements for the transition to higher education, identifying the strengths of the students. The platform allows schools and psychologists to follow up on students and assess their soft skills.

“We started with the data collection. Since we already have experience working with several students, the system handles big data, and analyzes it with artificial intelligence. Thus, each testimonial from the students is processed and derives a predictive result of their interests, and how these are related to their skills and abilities”says Lazarus.

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The use of AI improves the handling of the large amount of data in schools. In addition, the learning contents are adapted to a new information collection model, which is far from the classic vocational tests.

Joseph Marcilla, specialist in artificial intelligence and partner of Mayra Lázaro in ‘QueEstudiar’, indicates that this system “It moves away from the idea that if a student doesn’t have good grades, then they’re not cut out for college. In fact, seeks to establish new paths for students, so they know they are not alone in their search for the future. Thanks to ‘machine learning’ or automated learning, each time an adolescent enters her information and experiences on the platform, it is gaining better and more accurate results”.

Testimony of students about ‘QueEstudiar’. (Photo: Diffusion)

After having the data and proceeding with its analysis, the student report is reviewed by the educational psychologist of each school. In this way, the specialist continues to exercise his role as counselor for adolescents, but this time accompanied by the platform.

Many schools around the country already use ‘QueEstudiar’

As mentioned above, this tool has been used in the country for years. But, in the wake of the pandemic, many more schools have been using it as a substitute for the famous career fairs.

“Before, the process to motivate students to choose a career was to take them to vocational talks or fairs organized by universities. In most cases, you only had students with almost no interest in a career, they only went for the merchandising provided by each institution. Now, it breaks with the one-sided talks. It seeks to listen to the student from any school, whether public or private”adds Lazarus.

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Among the educational institutions with which they have worked are the private schools Trilce, Saco Oliveros, Innova Schools, etc. Some of them have provided their testimonials after using the platform.

Nevertheless, They were also present in public schools and worked hand in hand with the Municipality of Lima.

“We were present at the COARs, the High Performance Schools, both in Lima and in the provinces. Hand in hand with the Municipality of Lima, we also work to reduce the dropout rate of students who received scholarships. In the latter case, part of the State scholarship holders ended up leaving the university, since the career they chose was not the right one for them. ‘What to study’ contributed to reducing the dropout figures, with the results of the platform”Marcilla comments.

A software to identify the social gaps between students

This technology also contributed to reducing the inequality that is reproduced between generations through school failure. Faced with this problem, the objective of the creators is to internationalize the platform so that more adolescents find a job vocation and opportunities.

“It happened that in many cases the young people who used the tool were the first generation of their family that was going to enter the university. Thus, many felt alone or confused, since none of their parents could give them more insight on this stage. This is also the task of ‘QueEstudiar’: to identify the context and the history of the students to provide a diagnosis of what they need. There are some students who just want to know which universities have a certain career that interests them, and others need an analysis for their self-discovery of abilities. The platform is capable of all this, regardless of the socioeconomic level of the youth”adds Lazarus.

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But the function of this tool would not remain only in the results of the students. Joseph Marcilla ends by highlighting the importance of monitoring each school, and how it is important to monitor progress in each region of the country.

“At the end, we left a dashboard in each institution, to monitor the results. This not only helps to enrich the artificial intelligence system, but also to make comparisons with schools in other regions. This will identify the contexts for each province and provide more scope to our tool. That has been our goal: to reduce the gaps between students”.

Source: Elcomercio