Student-Made AI App Dominates Tech eChallenge

A 2025 Tech eChallenge was held in the University of Adelaide, South Australia, a program that empowers students to turn tech ideas into real-world solutions, taking the matter seriously - an AI-powered education app “Quixly” was developed and won first place. A proud moment for the college, its students and advancement in technology.

Brains Behind the Breakthrough

Quixly was developed by students Paul John Collantes Legaspi, Gerald Mendeja and Vlad Popkov. The winning AI allows students and parents to convert study materials, homework and class content into personalised quizzes, flashcards and study guides all with a single click.

“Quixly was born from the aspiration to make academic learning accessible and enjoyable for everyone,” said Legaspi. “The Tech eChallenge gave us the platform and support to bring that vision to life. Winning has validated our efforts and motivated us to take Quixly to market.”

What Is A Tech eChallenge?

The Tech eChallenge is a 12-week program held by ThincLab, the University’s business incubator. Students in the program learn to identify be it minor or major problems and develop tech-based solutions, build prototypes and assess feasibility all without needing any coding knowledge/experience.

“Students start out with just an idea and end up making it into real, working apps to life,” said Director of ThincLab Zrinka Tokic.

From a total of 59 teams in the program, only 10 finalists get to pitch their solutions to a panel of industry professionals. The 2025 cohort stood out for their use of evolving technologies like generative Artificial Intelligence(AI) across various sectors such as education, healthcare and retail.

Meet the Runners-Up

• 2nd Place: VitalynCreated by Sophie Lynch, Tanisha Prashar, Yashika Verma and Shruthika Vijayakumar, Vitalyn streamlines the blood testing process. It offers online GP(General Practitioner) referrals, AI-interpreted test results and care suggestions, making diagnostics more accessible and mainly efficient.

• 3rd Place: LivLocalLivLocal  was created by Anwitha Aromel, Isabella Cordera, Tyla Lay and Jemima Richter, for the purpose of travelling safely. It uses AI and crowdsourced data, to provide real-time safety heat maps(colour coded indication of levels of risks) and personalised location guidance, this is even more beneficial for young female travelers.

The winning teams shared a prize pool of  $8,000 along with continued access to mentorship and resources all through ThincLab.

What is Next?

Following Tech eChallenge, the annual Australian eChallenge launches in July till November as a statewide competition that fosters entrepreneurial thinking and business development for early-stage explorers and innovators.

Interested to know more? Australian eChallenge

Wrapping Up

This year’s Tech eChallenge highlighted the power of technology to drive change with a purpose  but mainly empathy. From transforming learning through Quixly to modernising healthcare and enhancing safety, these student-led innovations show that the future of tech is not just shining but mainly for human betterment.