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Contxto – Turning 18 is a pretty big deal when you think about it.
In most Latin American countries it comes with many rites of passage like obtaining a driver’s license. Or, a common favorite, being able to legally drink. But of course, it’s also a time when you have to make “one of the most important decisions of your life.” That’s right, choosing a career.
Luckily for today’s kiddies visiting a campus, reviewing a school’s curriculum, and talking to university staff can be done online.
Furthermore, there are edtechs like Peruvian Queestudiar that are helping students in Latam figure out the next step in their path as learners. And perhaps through artificial intelligence (AI) and a user-friendly interface, this startup can achieve where guidance counselors and universities often fail.
What to study? What to study?
Some kids are lucky because they go their entire life well-aware of what they want to study after high school.
For those less fortunate, it means rummaging through dozens of programs and considering potential job careers. This process also takes a lot of self-knowledge, and let’s face it: just how much self-knowledge does a 17 or 18-year old have anyway?
To add to the existential crisis/confusion it probably doesn’t help that nowadays there are way more options to choose from.
- Related article: Short-attention span? This edtech is offering 5 minute classes
“[We] prioritize finding the right way of choosing a career,” explained Mayra Lázaro, Founder/CEO of edtech Queestudiar.
“Given that 80 percent of students don’t know what to study, that leads to them under-performing in their chosen profession.”
In sum, you choose a degree you don’t really like and wind up at a job you hate.
How artificial intelligence can help students
Through an online questionnaire on its platform, Queestudiar gets to know its users in terms of potential career interests, budget, and location.
From there it can find universities and programs that match these fields or connect them with the edtech team for more guidance. In addition, it also offers a database with educational institutions’ profiles for students to review.
But it’s just as important to follow up with students, and for this edtech, that’s where AI technology comes in.
“Because of the number of users we have, we’ve implemented artificial intelligence. Through this effort, we want to carry out a follow-up process with the student during their first few months [in the educational program].”
That begs the question, just how accurate is Queestudiar’s career path counseling? The edtech’s CEO gave Contxto the scoop:
“After examining 60,000 student profiles across Latin America, our current accuracy rate is 82 percent and the precision rate is 74 percent. But we always recommend an exploratory process with one of the counselors on our team.”
Finding your calling
This startup is covering a niche in education often left out by other edtechs. A vast majority offer online coursework or search engines.
And interestingly Queestudiar’s steps into AI for vocational purposes is quite interesting. Machine learning can play an integral role in future generations choosing their career paths. However, given the human aspect of this process, AI technology must be used as a complementary tool for career orientation.
- Related article: 5 Ecuadorian tech startups enhancing education
How easy was it for you to decide what to study after high school? Are you happy with your decision? And here’s the kicker: Do you currently work in something related to your higher learning degree?
Although at the end of the day, these questions are irrelevant. A piece of paper, like a degree, doesn’t define who you are.
It’s what you do with your knowledge that matters.
Related articles: Tech and startups from Peru!
-ML
