A COMPUTER Science student from the Technological Institute of the Philippines Manila bagged the first runner-up title in the education vertical competition of the Impact 5G Hackathon with his essay grading app called ‘Eassay’.

Senior student Ardy Ubanos competed against learners and professionals from across the country.

“Hackathons usually judge winners based on their work’s innovativeness and not just relevance. This is what differentiated Eassay and eventually captured the interest of the jury,” Dr. Alexander Hernandez, TIP Information Technology Program chairman, said.

Powered by artificial intelligence, Eassay reads and grades essays based on input keywords. The more keywords an essay satisfies, the higher the score it gets. The app can be used in both classroom and workplace settings.

“We have automated test checkers for multiple choice exams but none for essay types. Based on research, teachers just usually look for keywords,” Ubanos explained.

“Eassay does that job and instantly rates a printed or online paper, saving instructors time and energy. Companies can likewise use it for job hiring and customer service initiatives,” he added.

Eassay, which Ubanos developed for the whole three days of the competition, is now up for incubation under Impact 2050 for further improvement.

Impact 5G Hackathon is a flagship program of Impact Hub Manila in collaboration with Smart and PLDT.

It aims to decentralize opportunities and create impactful digital solutions for health, education, climate change, good governance, food and agriculture, indigenous people, and smart cities.