More than 90 students from Arizona State University and other colleges in Arizona participated in the Arizona AI Challenge this fall, developing artificial intelligence tools to support neurodivergent individuals as they transition into post-college life.
Stevie Cervantes, a fourth-year computer systems engineering student at ASU, described her initial hesitation with AI: “AI was everywhere and my friends were asking me, ‘Oh, do you use ChatGPT?’ And I hadn’t even explored it because I was afraid I would be accused of cheating.” Her perspective changed after participating in the competition. “With the Spark Challenge, I saw how AI can be applicable to everyday life and be useful, and it’s definitely changed the way I see it,” Cervantes said.
The event was organized by the Spark Center for Innovation in Learning, established earlier this year by former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who serves as Distinguished Professor of Practice in ASU’s School of Social Work. The center aims to use AI to assist neurodivergent learners.
Twenty teams competed from institutions including ASU and Pima and South Mountain community colleges. Ten teams advanced to a five-day hackathon in November where they built prototypes for tools designed to help people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD or mental health conditions manage tasks after graduation.
Two finalist teams — Vertex AI and Capstone — each received $5,000 and will advance to the Global AI Challenge. They are refining their projects for a chance at the Sinema Student Prize of $15,000 at the ASU+GSV Summit next April.
Jacob Kuriakose of Vertex AI explained his team’s motivation: “Many of us have friends or classmates who are neurodivergent and rely heavily on campus accommodations to stay organized and succeed. And the moment they graduate, all of that disappears,” he said. “So when we read the challenge description, it felt like an opportunity to build something truly meaningful. The motivation was both personal and technical.”
Vertex AI developed Navia—an assistant that breaks down tasks into micro-actions such as “gather ingredients” or “cook the meal,” while also offering a peer-matching network for community support.
Capstone created Nerva—an assistant that helps users break tasks into smaller steps which are then scheduled on a calendar with supportive feedback. Nerva also features interactive journaling; during their demonstration Nerva asked if it should play Beatles music to help focus while starting work. The team also made a physical version similar to an Amazon Echo device.
Cervantes described her experience: “I was doing everything online, but for those five days, I’m pretty sure we didn’t do anything but work on that project,” she said. She noted technical challenges faced by her team but emphasized its value as a learning process: “It was definitely a learning process for all of us because a lot of us have never worked with AI in that level.”
Linda Ricchiuti from ASU’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute served as one of the judges; all student teams can continue working with Edson Institute mentors and pitch for further funding.
Cervantes reflected on what she learned beyond technology: “The biggest non-technical takeaway is the entrepreneurial aspect, which is so fascinating because we don’t learn that as engineers,” she said. “I’m really excited to see where this product goes.”
Sinema spoke about her inspiration for founding Spark Center during an October conference: “I saw teachers in overcrowded classrooms with not enough of the tools and skills they needed to meet the very specific educational needs of every student… Instead of ‘We want to figure out how to have you behave better…’ I want to figure out how we help these kids grow to be everything that their potential allows them to be.”
She added that advances in AI could allow early identification of students with dyslexia or help those on the spectrum communicate more effectively: “You could use AI as a tool to identify a student who has dyslexia very early on… Or help students who may be on the spectrum use AI to interact in a way that is most appropriate for them.”
OpenAI and Microsoft will provide support for competitors developing their projects going forward.
“We are going to help turn those good ideas into reality so they go into the world and help real people,” Sinema said.
Arizona State University has been recognized nationally for its innovation efforts over several years; according to a report, ASU has been named number one in innovation by U.S. News & World Report eight years running.
