Resolution Project Social Venture Challenge Semi-Finalist at Harvard WorldMUN 2025 | MealResQ · Matt Alexius
Matt Alexius Merano reached the semifinals of the Resolution Project Social Venture Challenge at Harvard WorldMUN 2025 in Manila, representing the University of Cebu with MealResQ, an AI-powered platform for redistributing surplus food.
In March 2025, at Harvard WorldMUN 2025 in Manila, I was named a semi-finalist in the Resolution Project's Social Venture Challenge. I represented the University of Cebu with MealResQ, our AI-powered platform for redistributing surplus food.
About the Resolution Project
The Resolution Project runs social venture challenges at Model United Nations conferences hosted by universities around the world. At Harvard WorldMUN 2025, held in Manila, teams developed and pitched ventures aimed at real, systemic problems. The field was international and the bar was high, so getting past the first screening meant both the idea and the way we explained it had held up.
MealResQ: the venture we pitched
MealResQ is an AI-powered platform that connects businesses that have surplus food with communities that need it, which cuts waste and gets food to more people. As lead UI/UX designer, I built the whole product case study: user research, journey maps, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes. The design had to show that the app was easy to use and that the venture would make a difference, and it had to do that clearly enough for judges comparing pitches from teams across the region.
What the semifinal told me
Reaching the semifinal told me the idea was good and that we had explained it well. It also backed up something I believe about design. Many people treat design as decoration added to a finished product. I see it as the way an idea becomes understandable, and people can only fund and deploy an idea once they understand it.