Team Masters Of Tech from Saint John Baptist De La Salle Catholic School take their Smart Academic Ecosystem project from 79 projects to the Top 6 and secure Third Place in a major EdTech competition Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Friday, July 31, 2026

Saint John De La Salle Catholic School is proud to celebrate the remarkable achievement of Masters of Tech, a student team whose innovative project, Smart Academic Ecosystem (SAE), earned Third Place at the EDTECH Competition 2026, held at Elilly Hotel in Addis Ababa on Friday, July 31, 2026.

The competition brought together 79 projects, each presenting ideas designed to use technology to address real-world challenges. Masters of Tech successfully advanced through multiple stages of the competition, first being selected among the Top 23 projects, then advancing to the Top 6 finalists, before ultimately securing Third Place.

“Members of Masters of Tech celebrate their Third-Place achievement at the EDTECH Competition 2026.”

Turning a Real Educational Challenge into a Connected Solution

The team's project, Smart Academic Ecosystem (SAE), was created to address a problem faced by many schools: the fragmentation of academic systems.

Assignments, grades, announcements, learning resources, and administrative information can often exist across separate platforms, making it difficult for students, teachers, and administrators to remain connected and up to date.

Masters of Tech envisioned a different approach: one connected ecosystem bringing learning, teaching, and school administration together in a single platform.

SAE brings together three connected experiences: a Student Suite, Teacher Suite, and Administrator Suite, supported by a shared AI layer and connected data system. The platform aims to make academic information more accessible, communication more organized, and the overall educational experience more efficient and personalized.

From an Idea to a Top-Three Project

The journey of Smart Academic Ecosystem reflects the team's ability to identify a real problem, develop a technological solution, and present it effectively under competition conditions.

The project was developed through collaboration among the members of Masters of Tech, combining leadership, development, UI/UX design, research, and data-related contributions. The team worked together to transform the initial concept into a functioning platform ready to be demonstrated to judges and participants.

The achievement is especially significant because SAE was not simply selected to participate. It progressed through three increasingly competitive stages, moving from 79 projects to 23, then to 6 finalists, and finally onto the podium with a Third-Place finish.

“Our goal was not simply to create another educational platform, but to address the fragmentation we experience in school and build a system that could realistically bring students, teachers, and administrators together.”

Recognition Beyond the Podium

The achievement brought several benefits to the school and the students.

Masters of Tech received Third-Place medals and certificates of participation in recognition of their involvement and achievement in the EDTECH Competition 2026.

The school's participation also resulted in additional benefits, including a printer that will be delivered to Saint John De La Salle Catholic School, contributing a practical resource that can benefit the wider school community.

Discount certificate received through the EDTECH Competition 2026.

A Team Achievement

While Smart Academic Ecosystem was the project that stood at the center of the competition, the achievement represents the combined effort of Masters of Tech.

Masters of Tech included Dawit Michael, Team Leader; Tsion Alemseged, Lead Developer; Nehemiah Abraham, UI/UX Designer; with Nahom Desalegn and Sara Abate contributing to Research & Data.

The team's success demonstrates the potential of students to move beyond simply learning technology and begin using it to solve problems within their own communities.

Their experience also highlights the importance of collaboration. By bringing together different strengths across development, design, research, leadership, and presentation, the team was able to turn an idea into a competition-ready project that earned recognition among dozens of competing projects.

Looking Ahead

Although Masters of Tech concluded the competition with a Third-Place finish, the team sees the achievement as a beginning rather than an ending.

The Smart Academic Ecosystem is designed with future development in mind, including plans for a parent portal, deeper AI analytics, and a native mobile application. The team's broader vision is to continue developing the platform and explore how it could eventually serve schools beyond its original environment.

From 79 projects to the Top 23, from the Top 23 to the Top 6, and finally to Third Place, Masters of Tech has demonstrated creativity, teamwork, technological ability, and determination.

Saint John De La Salle Catholic School proudly congratulates Masters of Tech on this outstanding achievement and celebrates the students' contribution to the school's growing culture of innovation and technology.

Congratulations to Masters of Tech!

Their Third-Place medal represents not only a competition result, but the beginning of what the team hopes will be an even greater journey in innovation, technology, and education.

Submitted by: tsionalemseged@stjohn.edu.et via CMS