BoilerPlanner

Boiler Planner: Crafting Your Degree, One Steamy Step at a Time

Inspiration

The inception of Boiler Planner sprang from a collective observation among us Purdue students: navigating through the myriad of courses, deciding on electives, and crafting a degree plan that aligns with our career aspirations is often an overwhelming ordeal. Inspired by the challenges we faced and the conversations with our peers, we envisioned a tool that not only simplifies these tasks but also personalizes the academic journey. Our goal was to create a platform where students could see their path from matriculation to graduation, illuminated.

Our learnings along the journey

Embarking on the Boiler Planner project was a journey of continuous learning. Delving into the realms of AI with OpenAI's API presented an exciting challenge. We learned to manipulate large datasets, specifically Purdue's extensive course catalog, and tailor AI responses to create meaningful degree plans. This project also enhanced our understanding of user experience design, as we aimed to create an intuitive interface that students could navigate with ease.

How we built Boiler Planner

Boiler Planner was brought to life through a synergy of Next.js for the frontend, providing a seamless user experience, and Express.js for the backend, handling data processing and AI interactions. The heart of Boiler Planner lies in its AI-powered engine, which analyzes student inputs to generate customized degree plans.

Challenges along the way were abundant. Ensuring the AI accurately understood and processed the vast variety of academic interests posed a significant hurdle. Moreover, integrating the frontend with the backend to create a smooth data flow required meticulous planning and testing.

Challenges we faced

One of the major challenges was refining the AI's output to make it truly useful for students. This involved numerous iterations of prompt tuning and result analysis to ensure the suggestions were practical and in line with university guidelines. Another challenge was designing a user-friendly interface that could handle the complexity behind the scenes, making the planning process as straightforward as possible for the students.

The Road Ahead

As we continue to develop and refine Boiler Planner, our vision is to expand its capabilities to include more dynamic elements such as real-time class availability, integration with academic advising, and personalized notifications for course enrollment periods. Our journey with Boiler Planner has been a testament to the power of technology to transform educational experiences, and we are excited to continue enhancing it for the benefit of Purdue students and beyond.

Acknowledgements

Our gratitude extends to our professors and peers at Purdue for their invaluable insights and feedback, the OpenAI community for their support, and to every student who has shared their academic journey with us.