Three Bocconians win the German Final of the KPMG Challenge

"Artificial intelligence is the future, whether we like it or not. That's why it's important not to ignore it, but to understand its huge potential". That was the input that made Marie-Claire Lenhard, Sophie Krentzel and Maximilian Lessing (Bocconi students in their first year of International Economics and Management) and Lukas Stangl (student at Modul University Vienna) participate in the KPMG Ideation Challenge. And they did it so well that their project won the German final. "Last step is to represent Germany in the international final, which will be held in Amsterdam from 9 to 12 May," says Marie-Claire.

Their idea is called SeamlessConnect, a platform that aids in the smooth transition at layover destinations, eventually calculating whether the passenger will make it to their connecting flight on time or not by perceiving the environment through AI, and taking actions accordingly. "This would help airlines to optimize their passenger experience while decreasing costs and increasing operational efficiency," explains Marie-Claire. "More than 33% of all flights are connecting, of which 10% are missed due to delays. We have experienced these kind of situations, which is why we have decided to develop a solution".

"We are looking forward to meeting other groups of students from different countries around the world and we hope that our idea will be not only a good cue, but also a demonstration of the huge potential of artificial intelligence," continues the German student, "A resource, which if well employed, can reshape the modern business landscape and disrupt entire industries.