ASU student team places third in global sustainability competition

Business and engineering students collaborate on an artificial intelligence-driven agriculture management system.

As organizations around the world embrace innovative solutions to reduce their carbon footprint, harnessing AI's potential to drive sustainable practices across industries is more critical than ever. A team of ASU students recently put this idea into action, leveraging AI-driven technology to develop an award-winning project that placed third in a prestigious global sustainability competition.

Last fall, over 130 student teams from around the world applied to AVEVA's EcoTech Emerge competition, a challenge aimed at developing cutting-edge net-zero emissions. Among them, two ASU teams advanced to the final round, which featured just 10 finalists in February.

"This competition reinforced my passion for technology, business, and economics," says Xiaolin Xu (MS-AIB '25), whose team placed third for their project, Polyhouse, an AI and IoT-powered agriculture management system. "Our success reflects ASU's commitment to innovation and its vision of driving AI in business and sustainability."

From left: Sreehari Krishna Sadesh, Xu, Tanushri Magesh Sowmya, and Saurabh Dusane.

Xu and her teammates, engineering students Saurabh Dusane, Sreehari Krishna Sadesh, and Tanushri Magesh Sowmya, were awarded $6,472.50 for securing third place, while ASU engineering students Sahil Pai and Brandon Lim were awarded first place and $12,945.

The EcoTech Emerge competition, hosted by AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, challenged students to create transformative energy and resource management solutions. Following a rigorous application process, 20 teams were selected to receive mentorship from AVEVA subject matter experts before presenting their final projects.

As the only business student on her team, the experience reinforced Xu's belief that interdisciplinary collaboration is critical to solving real-world challenges.

"My role was not just to validate our AI's technical feasibility, but to ensure it had market value and scalability," says Xu. "My engineering teammates had strong technical skills but lacked a business mindset. My job was to create a compelling business pitch to convince our audience why they should invest in our product."

The Polyhouse project combined the teammates' three major interests — agriculture, supply chain optimization, and business feasibility — to make greenhouse farming more efficient. The project used sensors, machine learning, and automation to monitor temperature, humidity, and sunlight intensity to optimize energy use, soil and fertilizer needs, and water management. The project also incorporated data visualization tools so users could see real-time environmental impacts and crop growth data.

During the competition's final round, Xu's team was judged on Polythouse's sustainability impact, innovation, technical and commercial feasibility, and ability to meet customer needs. Xu says the competition highlighted the importance of having a compelling business pitch.

"A breakthrough technology alone is insufficient. If you cannot communicate its value convincingly to judges and potential investors, even the best ideas may go unnoticed," says Xu.

The competition may be over, but Xu's team plans to continue to refine Polyhouse to advance sustainable agriculture practices. Xu, who is part of the first cohort of students to graduate from the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Business program this spring, plans to pursue a career researching the intersection between technology, society, and the economy and hopes to someday establish an education technology company.

"I am grateful to ASU for fostering an innovation-driven, interdisciplinary learning environment," says Xu. "ASU has not only equipped me with technical knowledge but taught me how to commercialize technology, create business solutions, and identify new opportunities at the intersection of different fields."

Find out more about how the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Business program helps students leverage AI to drive change across industries.