Inspiration
I built Improkinz because studying often means jumping between many different tools. One app is used for notes, another for flashcards, another for quizzes, another for productivity, and opportunities and student communities are somewhere else entirely.
I wanted to create one place where students could learn, stay organized, connect with other students, and discover opportunities.
That idea became Improkinz — an all-in-one student platform designed to make the learning experience more connected and useful.
What It Does
Improkinz combines AI-powered study tools with productivity, community, and opportunity features.
Students can use AI to create flashcards, summarize material, generate quizzes, organize notes, and interact with a study chatbot. They can also use tools such as a Pomodoro timer, calculator, to-do list, and study board.
Beyond studying, Improkinz includes a student community feed, profiles, study groups, educational videos, and an opportunities section where students can discover things such as competitions, programs, and other learning opportunities.
The goal is not just to help students study for one exam, but to create a platform that supports different parts of their student journey.
How I Built It
I built Improkinz using React Native and Expo, with TypeScript/JavaScript across the application. I used Firebase/Firestore for backend data and authentication-related services, Clerk for user authentication, and RevenueCat for the subscription/paywall system.
The AI features are connected through an API layer, allowing the app to provide tools such as summarization, quiz generation, and flashcard generation.
I also built the application as a multi-screen mobile experience with features including onboarding, profiles, community posts, opportunities, study tools, and a subscription experience.
What I Learned
Building Improkinz taught me that creating an app is much more than writing individual features.
I learned how different systems have to work together — authentication, databases, APIs, mobile UI, AI services, subscriptions, environment variables, and deployment all have to communicate correctly.
I also learned a lot about debugging. A feature can appear completely broken on the screen while the real problem is somewhere else in the backend, authentication flow, API configuration, or database.
Most importantly, I learned how to take an idea and keep improving it through real problems instead of stopping when something doesn't work.
Challenges
One of the biggest challenges was integrating multiple services while keeping the application reliable.
Authentication and Firebase integration required careful handling of user identities and profile data. I also had to debug issues where information appeared correctly in one environment but not another.
Another challenge was building the community and opportunity systems. Features such as profiles, posts, reactions, opportunities, and user-specific data require many pieces of backend logic to work together.
The AI features also presented a challenge because AI-generated results need to be useful to students rather than simply producing text.
Finally, building and testing the project as a young solo developer meant that I had to learn many technologies while simultaneously solving problems in the application.
Why I Built It
Improkinz started as an idea for making studying easier, but it grew into something bigger: a platform where students can study, organize, connect, and discover without constantly switching between different tools.
I built it to solve a problem I could actually see in the student experience, and building it has taught me how to turn that problem into a working product.
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