When Daniela Negri began taking classes at the University of Miami three years ago, she instantantly noticed that students were very siloed and stayed within their “bubbles” or buildings where their majors were located.
On a mission to solve this matter, she created Eureka Match—a networking application designed to increase quality peer-to-peer networking inside universities, spur innovation, connect current students with their alumni community, and help college students find prospective career opportunities.
“When I came to the United States, I had the need to connect with people from other areas, but I didn’t not know how to navigate,” said Negri, who wanted to meet more computer science majors to learn more about mobile application technology and software at the time. “So, I came up with this idea, gathered my resources together, and spoke with my mentors on campus to create this app.”
Negri, the daughter of a self-made entrepreneur, is a business technology major at the Patti and Allan Herbert Business School. She hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and chose to attend the University because of the hands-on learning experience guaranteed during her initial visit.
“Those promises have really come to fruition, and the proof is where I am right now with this cool project that helps put into practice what I learned inside the classroom,” said Negri.
One of Negri’s mentors, Seth Levine, an accounting lecturer at the Miami Herbert Business School, is proud of the strides his past student has made to turn her idea into a reality.
“Dani is a very unique student who took advantage of office hours pretty religiously,” Levine said. “As she had questions about growing the plan, I would poke holes in it and give my suggestions. It’s been pleasant working with her, acting as an advisor. I’ve learned a lot from her, too, throughout this process.”
In 2019, Eureka Match had its first big moment when it won second place in the Miami Herbert Business School’s Annual Business Plan Competition. Negri’s proposal won $7,500. Since then, she enlisted Hassan Tabbah as her project advisor and appointed student team members to help with conceptualizing the application.
Allegra Papera, backend developer and marketing content creator, said that Eureka Match is the “perfect place” for students who are looking for other students to help with completing professional and personal projects.
“A lot of my friends here at UM study music, and some of them are looking for photographers and videographers to help them with album artwork and music videos,” said Papera, a junior majoring in computer science. “Eureka Match is the place for students looking for students who have those skills, and I hope other students can find similar utility in the app.”
Luis Sosa and Daniel Benayoun, full-stack engineer and backend developer, respectively, find networking to be extremely daunting. Sosa is fulfilled knowing that students who share those sentiments will be able to use Eureka Match to alleviate the “mental exhaustion” associated with meeting new people.
“My hope is that Eureka Match is a comfy environment for people like me to build their networks, both professional and friendship-wise,” said Sosa, a computer engineering major.
Negri and her partners agree that launching Eureka Match couldn’t have come at a better moment as face-to-face social interactions have declined majorly in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The app’s interface will be reminiscent of popular dating apps, like Bumble and Tinder, to increase user interaction.
“For our target group and demographic, we know user-friendly platforms are very engaging; so, we want to make sure students would feel comfortable using it,” said Negri.
Safety is also a top priority for her users. “To login, students will use their ‘@miami.edu’ email to increase the feeling of safety—you’ll only be interacting with your student body. Every account will also be verified as well.”
Students also will be prompted to provide their interests, hobbies, and extracurricular activities. Negri said this will allow for matches to be as fine-tuned as possible. She noted that these details may act as an icebreaker and will allow for working relationships to flourish organically.
“Let’s say, I want to meet a computer science major who plays soccer,” she said. “You will be able to filter matches by graduation year, interests, and major, if you’d like. It will help break the ice when introducing yourselves.”
In the future, Negri hopes to expand so that students from different universities and colleges have the opportunity to match with one another.
To download, visit the App Store (available now) or Google Play (coming soon) store on your smartphone device.
