CMU Event Compass
Smart Calendar Add-On
Prototype pitch · 5–6 slides Use ← → keys or buttons below
01 / 06
Overview
Stop copy-pasting events.
Let your calendar do it for you.
CMU students juggle dozens of talks, hackathons, mixers, and info sessions every week. Our Event Compass Calendar Add-On auto-syncs events to Google or Apple Calendar based on what students actually care about.
  • One place to discover events across Heinz, Tepper, HCII, SCS, etc.
  • One click to load a week of events that match your interests.
  • Zero manual typing into calendar apps.
Vision
CMU-wide event feed Smart tags Google & Apple Calendar
“I want every CMU student to open their calendar on Sunday and already see the week’s best events waiting there.”
Target
3×
More relevant events attended
Clicks saved
50+
per week for heavy event-goers
02 / 06
Problem
Events are everywhere.
Students’ time is not.
CMU students discover events through emails, Discord, Slack, flyers, and random links. The result: decision fatigue, missed opportunities, and calendars that never reflect what’s actually happening on campus.
  • Events scattered across multiple schools and channels.
  • Students manually copy titles, times, and Zoom links into calendars.
  • High-value events clash because nothing is visible in one place.
Current student workflow
  • Skim 3–5 newsletters and group chats.
  • Open separate tabs for each event page.
  • Create calendar events by hand, one by one.
  • Forget to update when events move or Zoom links change.
Cognitive load ↑ Attendance friction ↑ Missed events ↑
When it’s this hard to add events, only the most motivated students show up.
03 / 06
Solution
An event add-on that thinks
in “weeks” not “single events”.
CMU Event Compass Calendar Add-On is a lightweight browser extension / web integration that connects the CMU event feed directly to students’ calendars. Instead of adding events one by one, students subscribe to a personalized weekly pack.
  • Works with Google Calendar and Apple Calendar.
  • Uses tags (AI/ML, HCI, entrepreneurship, policy, socials) and schools (Heinz, Tepper, etc.).
  • Pre-populates the next week’s events in one click.
What changes for the student
  • Instead of: “Add 7 events manually…”
  • They do: “Set my interests → Sync week → Done.”
Browser extension Calendar subscription (ICS) Secure CMU login
The calendar becomes the home for events – not email or Slack.
04 / 06
How it works
From interests → to tags → to a pre-filled week.
The system uses a tagged CMU event feed and a simple preference model to assemble a weekly calendar for each student.
1
Student selects interests
In the web app, the student picks tags like AI/ML, HCI, Entrepreneurship, “Free food”, or “Evenings only”.
2
Add-on pulls CMU events
The add-on reads the unified CMU event feed (Heinz, Tepper, HCII, SCS, etc.), filters by tags, time, and conflicts.
3
Next week is pre-populated
We generate a personal calendar stream for the upcoming week and push it to Google / Apple Calendar as one subscription – not 20 separate clicks.
4
The system learns over time
As students attend or ignore events, we adjust the ranking: more of what they attend, less of what they skip. Fewer irrelevant events, more signal.
Under the hood
  • Unified CMU events API or structured feed.
  • Tagging by topic, school, level, and format.
  • Simple preference engine that scores each event per student.
  • Calendar export via ICS file / API connection.
Implementation can start simple: weekly batch generation, then evolve into real-time sync.
05 / 06
Student journey
“Sunday night: I open my calendar and my week is already curated.”
A quick narrative of what this feels like from the perspective of a CMU student.
  • Setup: 60 seconds to choose interests and usual availability.
  • Weekly rhythm: every Sunday, the add-on refreshes the upcoming week.
  • Adjustments: student can uncheck events or pin “must-attend” ones.
  • Reflection: the system learns: which tags = “yes”, which = “no”.
Example: Data-driven Heinz student
“I’m into AI, public interest tech, and early-stage startups. I don’t want 30 random emails. I want 5–7 strong events per week that just show up in my Google Calendar.”
Manual steps
↓ 80%
vs. adding each event individually
Relevance
↑ 2–3×
events match the student’s profile
For CMU, this means better attendance, better use of speaker time, and stronger cross-campus connections.
06 / 06
Impact & roadmap
Start with simple sync.
Grow into a smart event companion.
We can begin with a lightweight pilot and iterate based on student behavior and feedback.
  • Phase 1: Unified CMU event feed + basic tag filters + ICS export.
  • Phase 2: Browser extension + “My weekly pack” button.
  • Phase 3: Learning layer and recommendations (events you’ll likely enjoy).
  • Phase 4: Deeper integrations – Canvas, SIO, and student org platforms.
Why this matters for CMU
  • Higher visibility for cross-school events and collaborations.
  • Better utilization of speaker time and event budgets.
  • Data on what topics actually resonate with students.
Less friction, more participation Smarter campus experience
Next step: connect this prototype to the existing CMU Event Compass feed and test with a small Heinz / Tepper cohort.