Becoming a Builder
Our second hackathon was a turning point. We actually built something this time! Here's the story of EduRoad, an AI-powered learning roadmap platform, and how we navigated the messy reality of turning an idea into code.
Photo by UP Computer Science Guild
Fast forward to our second hackathon. We walked in completely different people—we had a clearer mindset, a bit of swagger, and actual confidence that we could build a real application. Our project was EduRoad: an AI tool where users type in what they want to learn, and it spits out a structured, step-by-step roadmap.
The best part? We didn't just design it; we actually wrote the code. We applied everything we’d learned since our first attempt, exploring new tech and figuring out how to work efficiently as a team. We finally understood how to squeeze an idea into a tight hackathon timeframe.
That said, it definitely wasn't perfect. Under the hood, things were a bit taped together, and the UI had its rough edges. Nailing a smooth user experience while racing the clock is incredibly hard, and we definitely felt the pressure.
Still, comparing this to our first hackathon was night and day. We leveled up our workflow, wrestled with AI integrations, and actually shipped something functional. It was a massive confidence boost that showed us how far we had come—and how much more there was to learn.