Oh Jeong-seop, CEO of Tevasoft (2024 Entrepreneurship-oriented University Early Startup Business Support Project)
-Development of services that approach the relationship between teachers and students in educational settings
-SimSpace, AI extracts the emotions of the story and suggests empathy
Tevasoft is a startup that develops mental care-related software. It was founded in March 2022 by CEO Oh Jeong-seop (51).
CEO Oh said, “Tevasoft is developing software that can help make our lives a little happier based on AI technology.”
SimSpace, developed by Tevasoft, is a service in which AI extracts the emotions contained in a written story and suggests empathy.
“This makes it easier to manage my emotional changes. You can get comfort from AI or find a solution. My wife is an elementary school teacher. Last year, while I was a 5th grade homeroom teacher, I experienced a lot of stress managing my children’s lives. One day, the pain was so severe that I couldn’t even get up in the morning, so I took sick leave. The cause of all these diseases was stress. I modified the mental care service I was making for my wife and made it so that it could be used in schools. “This service is now our main service, SimSpace.”
Recently, many mental care services have emerged during the Corona period. CEO Oh said, “It focuses only on individual mental care, but Simspace is the only service that approaches this in the educational field as a relationship between teachers and students.”
“Students spend a lot of time at school. Recently, the number of dual-income families has increased, and there are many cases where children spend more time with teachers than with their parents, who lead busy lives. However, it is not easy for teachers to examine the hearts of children one by one. Through the service, you can easily understand the minds of children and the relationship between teachers and students can improve. There are more and more cases where children are able to enjoy school life. “This service was developed with advice from my wife and is suitable for teachers.”
As interest in edutech increases, Tevasoft is participating in large-scale exhibitions and conducting marketing. In addition, metropolitan cities are also pioneering sales channels through meetup days where teachers at the education office level and edutech companies meet.
“We are promoting our services through offline exhibitions. Teachers have an online training platform. A representative place is a place called ‘Knowledge Spring’ operated by the Korea Education and Research Information Service. Only selected companies can run courses here. Tevasoft was selected as the 2024 Knowledge Fountain Digital Lab and is conducting online training three times a month.”
How did CEO Oh start his business? “I have a doctorate in computer engineering and have been working on software development. “I felt like the software that was developing rapidly recently was not actually helping people be happy, so I took on the challenge of starting a business to develop software that was beneficial to people.”
After starting the business, CEO Oh said, “I feel rewarded when I receive good feedback from teachers and students at school,” and added, “It gives me great strength to know that someone is being helped through the service and that what I am doing is the right thing to do.”
Aside from the CEO, Tevasoft consists of three developers, two marketers, and one administrator. Regarding future plans, CEO Oh said, “We plan to enter the North American market,” and added, “We will participate in CES 2025 at the Daejeon Integrated Pavilion. “I hope it will be an opportunity to successfully advance overseas through meeting good partners,” he said.
Tevasoft was selected for the 2024 Hannam University Entrepreneurship Center’s initial startup support project. The Startup Center University’s initial startup support project is a startup support project targeting startups less than 3 years old at the time of announcement, and provides commercialization funds of up to 100 million won. They receive support from the host organization such as startup space, education and mentoring necessary for the growth of startup companies.
Establishment date: March 2022
Main business: Mental care related SW development
Performance: Used in 120 elementary, middle, and high schools, won the 2024 Eduplus Digital Well-being Award
Reporter Jinho Lee jinho2323@hankyung.com
What specific ethical considerations related to data privacy and algorithm bias does Tevasoft address concerning the use of AI to analyze student emotional expressions in SimSpace?
## Interview: Tevasoft and the Future of Mental Care in Education
**Introduction**
Welcome everyone, to this insightful interview exploring the exciting intersection of technology and mental health in education. Today, we have the privilege of speaking with the visionary behind Tevasoft, CEO Oh Jeong-seop, and joining us is Dr. Kim Min-seo, an expert in educational psychology and technology integration.
**Part 1: Genesis of an Idea**
* **To CEO Oh:** Your journey into the world of mental care software is deeply personal. Can you elaborate on the experiences that led you to create Tevasoft and specifically SimSpace?
* **To Dr. Kim:** How do you see the growing need for mental health support in educational settings, and what unique challenges do teachers and students face in this area?
**Part 2: SimSpace: Bridging the Gap**
* **To CEO Oh:** SimSpace utilizes AI to analyze emotional expressions in written narratives. Could you explain the mechanics of this process and how it facilitates empathy and understanding within the teacher-student relationship?
* **To Dr. Kim:** What are the potential benefits and limitations of using AI-assisted tools for emotional support in educational contexts? Are there concerns about data privacy and algorithm bias that need to be addressed?
**Part 3: Impact and Future Directions**
* **To CEO Oh:** SimSpace is already being used in over 120 schools. What kind of feedback have you received from teachers and students?
* **To Both Guests:** What are your thoughts on the potential of SimSpace and similar technologies to revolutionize the way we approach mental well-being in schools?
* **To CEO Oh:** Tevasoft aims to expand into the North American market. What are your strategies for scaling your operations and ensuring cultural relevance?
**Part 4: The Big Picture – EdTech and the Future of Education**
* **To Dr. Kim:** How do you envision technology shaping the future of education, specifically in relation to social-emotional learning and student support?
* **To CEO Oh:** What message would you like to convey to educators, parents, and policymakers about the role of technology in potentially transforming mental health support for students?
**Conclusion**
We want to thank both Mr. Oh and Dr. Kim for their invaluable insights.
As we navigate the evolving landscape of education, prioritizing the mental well-being of our students is paramount. Innovative solutions like Tevasoft’s SimSpace offer a glimpse into a future where technology empowers both educators and students to thrive in nurturing and supportive environments.
We hope this conversation has sparked meaningful dialogues and inspired further exploration into the transformative potential of edtech in fostering healthy minds and brighter futures.
![[노광우의시네마트랩] Netflix’s light and dark | Segye Ilbo](https://i0.wp.com/img.segye.com/content/image/2024/11/22/20241122500522.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 "[노광우의시네마트랩] Netflix’s light and dark | Segye Ilbo")
