A group of Austin Community College District (ACC) students are finalists in the national 2021 Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC). 

The CCIC is a nationwide competition where community college student teams use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to innovate solutions to real-world problems. The challenge requires teams to assess their innovation’s potential impact, identify its scientific and market feasibility, and determine its societal relevance.

ACC’s team, Justice for All, was selected for its project — “OASIS: Officer Aptitude & Stress Information System.” OASIS is a service that uses machine learning to analyze data from smart wearable devices like body cameras. The program can monitor and provide information about an officer’s acute stress before it escalates into crisis.

Mentored by ACC IMPACT Lab Coordinator Eric Hepburn, the team consists of four students from the User Experience (UX) program in Visual Communications:

  • Cimone Almestica
  • Tina Avent
  • Justin Hale
  • Cameron Primm

The college’s team completed phase 1 and was selected as one of 12 teams to advance to the final round in June. The students will attend a virtual boot camp to share their ideas with national leaders in entrepreneurship, STEM, and government and compete for cash prizes.

The CCIC is led by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF). To learn more, visit www.aaccinnovationchallenge.com.