Hyster-Yale Group provides students with real-world AI experience in 2024 Kellogg Design Challenge

Representatives from Hyster-Yale Group joined Northwestern faculty from the Kellogg School of Management and Segal Institute for Design Innovation and innovation industry leaders like IDEO, PwC and IA Collaborative to facilitate the 2024 Kellogg Design Challenge, the largest business design case competition across MBA programs globally. As the platinum sponsor, Hyster-Yale provided the theme for this year’s competition, AI x Design, which emphasizes the use of artificial intelligence to enhance the design and development process of new products, potentially reducing the time and effort involved by up to 50%. 

“Our focus is fostering innovation to push forward how materials are moved and help address the most pressing challenges facing supply chain operations,” says Ed Stilwell, Chief Technologist of Innovation, Hyster-Yale. “As we pursue that mission, the Kellogg Design Challenge is an outstanding opportunity to tap into some of the brightest young minds. Not only is this an important step to harnessing the power of leading-edge technology to drive change, it supports our approach of hiring the best talent and developing them into the future leaders of tomorrow.” 

Approximately 90 graduate students from Northwestern, Parsons, Carnegie Mellon, University of Chicago, Imperial College London, Cornell, UCLA and Dartmouth competed in the multi-stage event. Throughout the month of April, the competition included a Q&A with Hyster-Yale innovation representatives, workshops with innovation partners and the main Kellogg Design Challenge Day, featuring presentations from all competitors, speaker sessions and networking opportunities. 

Students from Cornell University Johnson School of Business won first place for their exceptional “EZ Requirement Assistant,” showcasing a deep understanding of user needs and innovative problem-solving, while also demonstrating the potential for real time and cost savings. In addition to awarding cash prizes to the first, second and third place teams, this year’s edition included a bonus prize for the most human-centric and inclusive design, which was awarded to students from Northwestern Kellogg. Members of the Hyster-Yale innovation team, together with the other competition judges, evaluated the semi-finalists on their design research, solution design, business impact and innovation pitch.

“We want to thank the Kellogg Design Challenge team, and the graduate students from reputed universities for their outstanding engagement in making the Kellogg Design Challenge an incredible success,” says Dr. Gopi Samayajula, Senior Vice President of Global Product Development, Hyster-Yale. “This year’s competition pushed them to build around the challenges of tomorrow’s technology-driven solutions and make a real impact on the design and development process of new products by leveraging emerging AI technologies – potentially reducing the effort involved by up to 50%.” 

The Hyster-Yale innovation team focuses on developing advanced technologies for materials handling operations and accelerating the adoption of these technologies in commercial applications. Between the Yale and Hyster lift truck brands, the company’s deployed emerging technology base includes over 500 automated lift truck units and more than 6,000 lift trucks with the company’s patented operator assistance technology.

In addition to the Kellogg Design Challenge, Hyster-Yale has several longstanding collaborations with academic and career development programs across the country. The company’s Innovation Lab operates at the Shiley-Marcos Center for Design and Innovation at the University of Portland, and is a model for other industry-university cooperation, immersing students in real-world engineering and product development projects. The company also works with colleges in communities where it operates, such as East Carolina University, Berea College, Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky, to sponsor senior capstone projects and provide mentorship and internship opportunities. Hyster-Yale also serves alongside companies such as Lockheed Martin and Lexmark on the Eastern Kentucky University engineering advisory council.