VCU news

By Leila Ugincius

Charged with connecting audiences to an idea from a global brand in a way not possible three years ago, a team of students from the Virginia Commonwealth University Brandcenter has won the prestigious AKQA Future Lions competition for the second year in a row.

Limah Taeb, Stanley Hines and Xia Du, all students in the Experience Design track, won the Future Lions award for “BoseNeuro 35,” an idea that uses neuro-technology to send mental commands to Bose headphones, allowing users to interact with music via brain wave technology sensors. Their idea was born from the insight that many people listen to music to help them focus and be productive. The brain wave sensors assess music preferences, allowing for personalized playlists to achieve peak mental performance and productivity.

Du was also on last year’s winning team for the Amazon Emma, an artificial intelligence for the Amazon Echo that helps seniors combat loneliness and isolation.

“The purpose of the Brandcenter is to develop the world’s most elite force of creative problem solvers,” said Ashley Sommardahl, director of student affairs and industry outreach. “Our students bring that purpose to life every day, and we’re so proud to see them recognized and lauded on our industry’s biggest global stage. This is a huge accomplishment for these students who are just starting their careers. We can’t wait to see what they do next.”

In collaboration with the Cannes Lions international Festival of Creativity, the advertising industry’s most celebrated global competition, Future Lions is an annual worldwide competition that encourages students to create the future. About 2,100 teams from 64 countries entered the 2017 competition.

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