From Classroom to Startup - How a UMBC Capstone Sparked an EdTech Innovation

What happens when two data science grad students turn a class project into a full-fledged edtech startup?

In this episode of UMBC Mic’d Up, we sit down with Sai Manvitha Nadella, M.P.S. '25, Data Science and Sampath Kumar, M.P.S. '25, Data Science, co-founders of AIEdumate, an AI-powered learning platform born from their capstone at UMBC. 

This is a must-watch for anyone interested in data science, AI, and launching a tech startup straight from grad school. 

🔗 Visit https://aiedumate.com 

🔗 Ready to turn your data skills into real-world impact? https://professionalprograms.umbc.edu/data-science/

Transcript

Dennise Cardona  09:50:11  
Hey, thanks for tuning into this episode of UMBC Mic'd Up podcast. I am so excited for today's conversation. I'm here with two graduates of our data science graduate program, and they started a new journey called AIedumate, and I am so excited to talk to them about their journey with this their educational journey and where they are headed in the future with this whole project. So I want to welcome you, Sampath and Sai, to this podcast episode. Thanks for joining me.

Unknown Speaker  09:50:44  
Thank you. Dennise, yeah. 

Dennise Cardona  09:50:46  
So let's start with some quick introductions. Can each of you tell me when you graduated what your current role is in the AIedumate startup?

Sai  09:50:57  
Yeah, starting with me. I'm Sai Manvitha and I recently graduated from UMBC Master of Professional Studies data science program in May 2025 and I serve as the founder and CEO of AIEdumate. My journey started with a deep interest in how technology, especially AI, can bridge learning gaps and personalized education for everyone, and today, I'm fortunate to lead a startup that brings that vision to life by using generative AI and data science to support learners of all the backgrounds.

Dennise Cardona  09:51:32  
Thank you for that. Sampath?

Sampath  09:51:34  
Hi, Denise. I'm Sampath Kumar. I also graduated from the data science MPs program at UMBC, and I serve as the CEO of AI at you made. My focus is primarily on scaling the operations, ensuring a platform run smoothly, and translating the needs of educators and students into actionable product features. Sai and I am working closely during our time at UMBC, and the connection naturally evolved into a partnership. They're both excited about how AI can make education more equitable and engaging. Ah,

Dennise Cardona  09:52:07  
it sounds so exciting. What is AI? Hm, a and who is it Designed, designed to help. So how would you describe your platform and say one sentence for someone unfamiliar with it?

Sai  09:52:20  
Yeah. So AIEdumate is an AI powered learning management system, just like a bank board with an AI feature that creates personalized learning experiences for students by adapting to their learning style, pace and also their progress, whether you're a visual learner or someone who prefers hands on activities or student or struggles with you know, traditional lesson formats, our platform dynamically generates content changes what the professor has uploaded into the course content, and it generates lessons, quizzes, flash card and even dust tutoring tailored to how you learn the best in one sentence, I would say it's like having a 24 by seven AI tutor that understands how you think, learn and go. It's designed for students, teachers, homeschooling, parents and even adult bloggers who want to just upskill and really for anyone looking for more engaging and adaptive learning experience,

Dennise Cardona  09:53:20  
I'd love to ask another follow up question to that, as an instructional designer, how do we interact with this type of a system? Is this something that we co create with AI to create these courses, the content, the evaluations and things of that sort, or is it something that is purely generated by AI? And maybe an instructional designer is no longer needed in that capacity?

Sai  09:53:43  
No, we need curriculum and instructional designers because totally depending on AI is really harmful, especially in the educational setting, because you don't know what is factual. So what it makes it works is it basically works on the existing curriculum, syllabus which is uploaded by the university, confirmed by like we have homeschool organizations which have their own curriculum. So then upload initially, and then also they will upload the course materials that they have did research on by the instructors, and then the particular content will be transformed based on the students personal needs.

Dennise Cardona  09:54:21  
Wow, that's amazing. Where did the idea for AIEdumate come from? And like, Was there a specific moment class or a problem that sparked this concept?

Sai  09:54:31  
Yes, so we were working for our data science 606 capstone project where initially I saw a gap between traditional learning and personalized learning, and I thought, maybe, why can't I do it like a capstone project? And it turned out to be like something that we can do it for the actual user need. Like, what if the course could change based on how you're feeling, what you know and how you learn? That was like the aha moment that we got and sample joined soon after, like, I started my capstone, and we have been working on project for a long time during our journey. And. UMBC, and we saw, like, the immediate potential in this idea, that it could make something like kind of a business idea.

Dennise Cardona  09:55:20  
Yeah. What's exciting about that, from a former graduate student at UMBC and those prospective students who may be listening into this episode, is that it's there's such room for growth and entrepreneurship innovation when you are studying with these programs, because I would imagine your peers and your instructors as well, like for me, that's the peers and instructors really made an impact on my learning journey and helped me to think outside the box and think about potential things that I could bring of value to the world after post graduation. And it sounds like that's kind of what happened with you all

Sai  09:55:59  
initially, when I got this idea and my capstone project, the professor who was my supervisor in the capstone project, he really gave a good feedback. He told me, like to do some changes, and then we did those changes in the product. And as soon as I got to my about the Alex Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, I thought, why don't I give it a shot with them? I have applied for the PNC Scholars program and got selected for the initial seed funding, and also I got into the UMBC Launchpad accelerator. So UMBC is like, with lots of resources, there will be administrations who will be coming to set up a stage to do their first performance. You can do that in UMBC. If you want to make a film, you can do that. For me, it's a technical startup. I wanted to do it, and I'm actually doing it right now.

Dennise Cardona  09:56:51  
Congratulations to both of you on that. It's what an achievement. So let's kind of talk a little bit about the role that UMBC data science program had in bringing this idea to life. Can each of you share how the coursework like machine learning and AI or data analytics helped you build the tech side of this platform?

Sampath  09:57:12  
UMBC gave us a perfect mix of technical skills and practical applications. So our courses in machine learning, data visualization and big data analytics didn't just teach us theory, they challenged us to solve real world problems with data. And as mentioned, that caption experiences pivot that made experiences come together and ideas work together, really together and everything. It gave me the space to test ideas and direct faculty feedback, almost like an incubator. The faculty were incredibly supportive and encouraged us to push boundaries. Without the structure the room of experiment of AiEdumate will still be a problem, an idea.

Sai  09:57:56  
So also, like, right from starting of my UMBC journey, been as an international student. Well, I came here, and the curriculum is not just very tough, like it slowly takes and was more transitioning to the complex concepts, like initially I enrolled in intro to data science, and then after that intro to data management, due to this academic shift that I had to go through as an international student, I thought it would be complex, but it ended up to be like a simple subject that I could ease and those technical Things that we have learned in this basic courses had helped us to go a step ahead in our electives, like I took financial data science elective by Professor Abdullah, and also NLP elective, and also did an independent study in quantum research. So these basic courses in the starting had helped us like to tweak what our skills might be, what we like. And we started, we ended up taking a course that is, you know, much more like we are aligned to. So that's how the entire curriculum is designed by UMBC, MPS program. And we obviously like recommend any incoming students. I have recommended, personally to all my juniors back in India to come here like professors. They are not just teaching. They come from directly the industry to teach to us so they know how things actually go out in the industry. They come here, they teach us how it goes in particular environment, to be honest, and at the end of our graduation, we actually do it, be it like working for an NLP or working on your own project that you're doing. It's like the entire curriculum is designed so perfect for anyone who wants to do something. Would take a science be to begin to run an expert? Yeah,

Dennise Cardona  09:59:52  
and I think that a lot of times, prospective students might be wary that maybe of a graduate program, because it might be too theoretically based and not necessarily applied. And in the case of UMBC professional programs, these programs are hands on. They're applied programs, which makes them very special, because while you are learning, you are also growing your portfolio, you're actually doing the work that you're studying, and that when you put practice to theory, that's when it really sticks, that learning sticks and you can really go far. Yeah, so now you are both graduates of UMBC data science program. What has it been like to build a company together as co founders? You know? How has your shared academic foundation helped you in your collaboration?

Sai  10:00:47  
It's been a great experience. So far, we speak the same language, not just data science, but also it shared values around what good education should look like. And right from the starting of our UMBC Master's journey, we had taken courses together, did projects together, and we actually know where our students lie. Sometimes I'm like, you'll bit wakey with the coding part. So he steps in and takes the charge. And sometimes I should push him to go, can you do this? And he does it so we typically understand our technical side of each other, who is, you know, a star in what and when. We had our share of challenges as well, especially like during our cap, students are doing school and our own part time job responsibilities, my internships, but because we went through the same program, we not have to communicate effectively and balance our goals and we trust each other's strengths. That's what I would like to add. And here's like, brilliant envisioning the operational strategies that we have to follow. And I'm just putting on what vision we had at the starting and it's been, like, very collaborative. And UMBC, particular curriculum of having team based projects have helped us to lay the foundation of what we are doing now together. 

Sampath  10:02:18  
So the main thing is that we trust each other's strengths. Sai is brilliant at envisioning what's next, the long term vision and the focus on how to make the vision operational. It's been very collaborative. And also UMBC training in team based projects really helped us lay the foundation. We never actually deviated from what we wanted to build at the start, when the AI team, it has born. So size being the envisioning and the lay founder for us. So that's been a great thing for us, for what we are right now,

Dennise Cardona  10:02:50  
absolutely. Now you've received great support from the UMBC community along the way. Can you talk about your experience with the Alex Brown Center, the launchpad accelerator and the Academic Success Center?

Sai  10:03:03  
Yeah, so definitely the Alex Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. I especially thank them, because when I had this idea, I was just a mere like a technical engineer who wants to do this, but due to their launch pad accelerate, or their lean start platform, where we learn the basic business models, I had to start learning the business side of anything that you want to do. Maybe I just want to do something. You have to think about the business side, the profits, the losses. Is it going to work or not? So they have really helped us, especially the director, Kevin Fulmer whenever I had a one on one session with them, it's always been like I have to change something that I'm doing currently. And it's very informative, and maybe even a top class business school program might not give me this much amount of exposure, the real life exposure of being in real life entrepreneur. They were the first to validate our idea from a business perspective, and they're helping us to make this prototype into a customer ready product, and also connect us with mentors and other startup expert the Academic Success Center as well. Whenever I have reached out to them, they were very positive in giving us inputs and reviews on what we're doing, because they are the first ones who will be choosing this product on the first time being a UMBC student or UMBC tutor, so they have, like they showed us, UMBC is so much invested in student success beyond just the classroom. Now,

Dennise Cardona  10:04:48  
Sai, this question is specifically for you, because you also participated in the UMBC SEA program. So can you tell us what the summer enrichment Academy experience was like and how it helped shape your startup mindset?

Sai  10:05:04  
Yes, so Summer Enrichment Academy, it's like a turning point from me. I have joined their program in June 2024 as a robotics and AI instructor, and I also did a program assistant job for them as well. It helped me understand how students interact with tech in real time like they think, like middle school and high school students, they might not know about the coding stuff, but I was surprised to know that a high school student is able to code much better than me, and that was like the shocker that I got while working with she like how advanced the generation is. I saw firsthand that no two students learn the same way, like someone is a slow learner, and some student is like, he really understands everything fast. So I even got that insights during that experience. It directly influenced how we structured AI achievement, and that's the main core reason that I wanted to build a platform that could respond to that kind of diversity in the learning needs. Also working as a program I'm also working as a program assistant right now with somebody investment Academy managing 600 to 700 students at a time, checking whether they're not wandering out on the campus, and then the direct contact with the students help us understand like what they actually need and how they will understand things better. Well, running a tech startup which direct users are students will able to understand how, you know, things might work out with those little kids and how to shape their understanding.

Dennise Cardona  10:06:53  
Thanks for sharing that. That's amazing. Sampath, what made the data science MPS program stand out for you? How did it help you gain both technical skills and the confidence to work on real world problems?

Sampath  10:07:10  
So the first thing is that it was the balance, the balance between the core technical depth and the flexibility we were learning Python, SQL, machine learning and cloud computing, all while being encouraged to apply to any domain we are passionate about, that freedom and focus on education to use as an use case was very important, and it helped a lot.

Dennise Cardona  10:07:35  
Great. Thank you for that. What advice would you give to a student who has an idea but isn't really sure where to start? So like, what small steps helped you move from idea to action?

Sai  10:07:50  
I would like to tell them to start small and don't worry about perfection at the initial stages, because what you might think in the initial stages might not turn out to be the actual product that you'll be delivering to the customers. I started with a normal Google Doc, writing down my ideal learning experience, how it should look like, and I built a simple streamlet prototype and got feedback. And each small action builds the momentum of driving it to become a big response. And also, I would recommend to find people to talk to every single day who is might not be directly you know, affected by your product, or they might just, you know, with the word of mouth, can market your product, just be it faculty, classmates or potential users, early conversations gave us a clarity on what we needed, and especially we need to keep in mind that you Don't have to figure it out alone. You can ask your friends help. You can take support of the resources at UMBC or any other university that partners, and they just have to figure it out how to do this with, you know, lots of help, and just don't stay you know, in a particular blog won't keep any boundaries, that's what I've left it in.

Dennise Cardona  10:09:14  
Why is entrepreneurship an exciting path for students in data science or in technical fields?

Sampath  10:09:23  
Why it's exciting because you're not just running models, you're solving problems that people care about, then connection between your skills and real world impact is very motivating. That brings the excitement in the work and also the tools we have learned from beginning with LLM to data pipelines are becoming more accessible. Students can now prototype test the products faster than ever before. That's a huge opportunity. So that makes a lot of excitement to come to us.

Dennise Cardona  10:09:57  
What is next for your startup? Aiedumate. Are there opportunities for UMBC students or faculties to get involved?

Sai  10:10:07  
Yes, we are currently expanding into the homeschooling and of course. School learning markets, we are researching on how they use the normal educated tools. We are also building educated tools that allow teachers to approach syllabi and or to generate lesson plans and courses. UMBC students, they can actually get involved, whether through internships, user testing or capstone projects with our ideas. Um we are even exploring collaborations with UMBC packers, the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, to do more research driven features, because being an ed tech, you just can't do anything out of your gut. You need to be, you know, as factual as possible, especially around the AI fairness and adaptive learning. So yes, the door is wide open, slowly when we say and we are just giving back to our community, which we got benefited a lot from,

Dennise Cardona  10:11:03  
that's beautiful. Is there a website that we can leave in the description?

Sai  10:11:07  
Yes, it's www.aiedumate.com,

Dennise Cardona  10:11:13  
great. That will be in the description for listeners. If you want to visit that and see what it's all about and help support their efforts. That's That's fabulous. My final question to both of you, what's the biggest lesson that each of you has learned through this whole journey from student to founder, and what would you say to a prospective student considering the MPS in data science?

Sai  10:11:39  
For me, it's that progress beats perfection. I believe in in a lot, if you wait for everything to be perfect, you will never launch the MPs program gave me the courage to ship early, get feedback, and, you know, keep iterating to whatever idea that you got to be working on. I say that join MPS data science program at UMBC, if any prospective student is listening to this

Dennise Cardona  10:12:10  
Sampath?

Sampath  10:12:12  
Yeah. Yeah. So mine is simple, build and grow with empathy, whether it's a teammate or a student using your product. Listen deeply and for future students. MPS program at UMBC is not just a degree. It's a launch pad, if you're willing to take an initiative right from the beginning, I wanted this, and I came into here.

Dennise Cardona  10:12:34  
Wow. Thank you both so much for sharing your inspiring story. Really excited for both of you. I can't wait to see where this goes, where this takes you. I'm certainly going to be following it as an instructional designer. The interest is high for me. So thank you so much for listening everybody to this podcast. If you'd like to learn more about our offerings, visit the links in the description. Thanks so much.