On February 7, 2025, 22 interns from Cycle 17 showcased their technical skills and strategic thinking during their Sprint 1 Pitch Presentations. These presentations marked the culmination of three weeks of collaboration, learning, and innovation, in response to a challenging project from our RFP sponsor, ictect, Inc.
For this project interns pitched how they planned to develop an automated job process to extract metadata from documents using artificial intelligence (AI) and create a data analytics dashboard to improve the user experience of ictect’s AI-powered document workflow tool. This project has pushed them to apply their technical expertise while honing their communication and collaboration skills under pressure.
The presentations highlighted the interns’ dedication and innovative thinking. As part of the i.c.stars learning model, they worked on real-world challenges with support from staff, mentors, and workshops in business, leadership, and technology. In Sprint 1, they demonstrated not only their technical skills but also their ability to engage with corporate clients, present ideas, and iterate based on feedback.
“Today’s presentations were more than a pitch competition,” said Mimi Pérez, i.c.stars Program Manager. “They were an opportunity for our interns to show how far they’ve come as leaders. Each team exhibited creativity, resilience, and the qualities of transformational leadership.”
Each of the five teams presented their initial pitches to ictect, who provided valuable insights and feedback. We are proud to see how the interns tackled these challenges, and we’re excited to see where their solutions go next.
While the pitch competition had its winning team, the real success was the experience itself. The interns demonstrated strategic thinking, creativity, and the ability to communicate effectively—skills that will serve them throughout their careers in tech and beyond.
i.c.stars is not just a business, leadership and tech training program—it’s a journey of growth and transformation. Through hands-on learning and real-world projects like this one with ictect, our interns are developing the skills and mindsets needed to thrive in the fast-paced world of technology. As they move into Sprint 2, where they will build their solutions and engage with mentors, their learning will only deepen.
We are incredibly proud of the Cycle 17interns for their hard work and commitment, and grateful to ictect for their partnership in providing this valuable opportunity. The Sprint 1 Pitch Presentations were just the beginning, and we look forward to seeing what these talented individuals will achieve as they continue their journey.
