Compass: Helping students find their place at SMU
Computer engineering undergrad Yaw Boateng built a startup to make it easier to get involved and took it to the 2026 ACC InVenture Prize Competition.
For Yaw Boateng, a third-year computer engineering student at SMU Lyle, finding the motivation to get involved on campus was never the problem. Finding out how to get involved, however, wasn’t as straightforward.
Boateng isn’t alone in that experience. As a President’s Scholar, he chose the Hilltop for its culture of commitment and opportunity, where innovative students are met with the skills and resources to achieve their goals. What he didn’t expect was how hard it would be to find opportunities that were right for him — a struggle he’s noticed many students at SMU share.
“I found that accessing information for various campus resources and ways to get involved was very tedious,” Boateng said. “I realized the process could be simplified.”
From that struggle came Compass, a student-built startup that, as Boateng puts it, “helps students quickly navigate campus resources, advising questions and next steps.”
The student-facing platform began as a passion project during his very first semester at Lyle, when his desire to get involved led him to realize that some of our best programs are not always easy to find — but they should be.
Compass provides accessible, centralized information on campus opportunities, student communities and scheduling — a one-stop shop for all things SMU. Working alongside an advisor, Compass is designed to put information directly in students’ hands, making advising conversations more focused and more impactful.
“Our goal is to bridge the gap between students and advisors,” Boateng said. “Compass allows students to access resources when they need to, so advisors have more time to form those deep, personalized connections.”
Jump-started with a win at SMU Big iDeas, a pitch competition that provides mentorship and non-dilutive funding to promising student startups, the project has become a collaborative effort with the University Advising Center.
The mentors he’s found in each place — including University Advising Center Director Joshua Beaty, Engaged Learning staff members Jennifer Ebinger and Olivia Prioleau, Lyle Entrepreneurial Director Mahesh Krishnamurthy and Spears Institute Director Joshua Taylor — have been pivotal in getting his work off the ground.
But at the heart of this project is long-held curiosity, backed by the growing technical skills he’s built at SMU Lyle. For Boateng, who’d always dreamed of being an entrepreneur, engineering felt like a way to build a better world. Compass means watching his childhood dreams come to life.
“I want to use technology to create and solve problems — to create real-world impact,” Boateng said. “My hope for Compass is to become something that can be truly helpful for students and advisors.”
At SMU Lyle, he has the opportunity to pursue both passions — engineering and entrepreneurship — at the highest level. Representing SMU at the 2026 ACC InVenture Prize Competition in March, Boateng stood among students with similar ambitions, bringing Compass to the national stage.
The opportunity was, for him, extraordinary.
“It was an honor. I got to meet other students and university representatives from all over the ACC and pitch to a national audience. It was really welcoming to see the support I was getting across the entire campus as we prepared to attend,” he said.
With experience under his belt, Boateng is focused on getting Compass into students’ hands. His mission of making it easier for students to get involved has remained paramount since his very first semester.
And for Lyle students who might be interested in pursuing a passion project of their own, Boateng’s advice is this: “The best ideas often come from problems we face in our own lives. Become obsessed with solving the problem and the people you’re solving it for.”
“Engineers and entrepreneurs are the same — at the end of the day, we’re just problem-solvers,” Boateng said. “I think engineers, in many ways, are best equipped to create impactful solutions because we learn to solve problems in new ways.”
From the Hart Institute for Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship to the Spears Institute and Big iDeas, our campus is full of resources and opportunities for whatever excites you. At SMU Lyle, there’s no shortage of places to start.
It’s not an easy path, he explained, but it’s worthwhile — by following that same spark, he hopes every student has the chance to see how far their potential can take them.
Want to try Compass for yourself? Visit Compass to learn more.
About the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering
SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering thrives on innovation that transcends traditional boundaries. We strongly believe in the power of externally funded, industry-supported research to drive progress and provide exceptional students with valuable industry insights. Our mission is to lead the way in digital transformation within engineering education, all while ensuring that every student graduates as a confident leader. Founded in 1925, SMU Lyle is one of the oldest engineering schools in the Southwest, offering undergraduate and graduate programs, including master’s and doctoral degrees.
About SMU
SMU is the nationally ranked teaching and research university in the dynamic city of Dallas, and a member of the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference. SMU’s alumni, faculty and more than 12,000 students in eight degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, communities and the world.