Michaelwave

App logo

Inspiration

We wanted to tackle one of the most common challenges students face in university: building meaningful connections within the community. Between large lecture halls, impersonal environments, and the fast-paced, transient nature of university life, it’s not easy to form genuine relationships. Social media often requires you to already know people, and sometimes, all you need is a study buddy or a teammate to help navigate group assignments. That’s why we’re creating an app exclusively for academic networking. This platform is designed to foster connections in a less formal, more relaxed academic setting, while still maintaining a level of anonymity. It’s a space where you can express yourself without pressure, collaborate with peers, and find the right people to help you succeed. And of course, we’ve kept Gen-Z in mind—making it fast, intuitive, and easy to consume content in a way that fits your vibe (because let’s be real, we’re all a little affected by that brain rot life). Let’s make university life a little less lonely and a lot more connected!

What it does

A Focused, Streamlined Experience In Michaelwave, your feed is designed to be clutter-free. You’ll only see posts from students enrolled in the same classes as you, along with updates from the hashtags you follow. This ensures your feed stays relevant and manageable.

How we built it

Michaelwave is here to help you find your ideal teammates, navigate the challenges of university life, and build meaningful academic connections. Think of us as your go-to sidekick for collaboration and support—not a replacement for social media platforms like Discord or Instagram, but a complementary tool designed to make your academic journey a little smoother and a lot more connected.

Our features include:

Status Updates (with Hashtags):

Share text-based status updates with a character limit (100 words) to keep things concise and to the point.

Use mandatory hashtags to categorize your posts and make them easily discoverable.
Browse a personalized feed of updates from users, groups, or hashtags you follow.
Every update comes with a timestamp, so you know exactly when it was posted. ### Widget Functionality:
Stay updated at a glance with widgets on your home screen.
Choose from multiple widget sizes (small, medium, large) to fit your needs.
Customize your widget settings, like which hashtags to display and how often to refresh.
Tap on a status in the widget to dive straight into the full app for more details. ### Send Friend Request:
Send friend requests to connect. Recipients can accept or reject. Manage your sent and received requests.
Once accepted, you can see their updates.

Direct Messaging (DM):

Connect one-on-one with private messaging to take your conversations beyond the feed.
Classmates Connections:
Automatically connect and stay updated with students in your current classes.
- View their status updates and easily send friend requests. Streamline collaboration and stay informed about class-related activities.

Challenges we ran into

Like every other team, we faced the challenge of coming up with a meaningful project to build within our limited skillset and the tight timeframe of a hackathon. We brainstormed several ideas, but many of them relied on technology that felt "a bit too fancy" or didn’t seem to have a real impact. Then, we reflected on our own experiences as first-year international students, navigating the complexities of university life and wishing there was an easier way to connect with others. That’s when the idea for Michaelwave was born—a platform designed to solve a problem we personally understood and cared about. Of course, the journey wasn’t without its hurdles. One of the biggest challenges was learning Flutter in less than 24 hours to successfully build a functional app. This was especially daunting as we entered this project with zero prior mobile app development experience. It was a steep learning curve, but our determination to bring Michaelwave to life kept us going. We spent hours poring over documentation, watching tutorials, and experimenting with code, all while racing against the clock. Despite the obstacles, we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished. Michaelwave isn’t just a project for us—it’s a solution to a problem we’ve lived through, and we hope it can make university life a little less lonely for students everywhere.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Building a fully functional MVP with all the features we wanted to demo in less than 48 hours was no small feat. It required intense focus, collaboration, and a whole lot of caffeine. One of our proudest achievements was successfully implementing widget-based instant photo updates—a feature that took us a grueling 10 hours of debugging to get just right. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, but the moment it finally worked, it felt like a major victory. Oh, and did we mention we pulled an all-nighter to make it happen? All while juggling a mountain of assignments due around the same time. (Because, of course, deadlines love to pile up all at once.) It was chaotic, exhausting, and honestly, a little bit insane—but it was also incredibly rewarding.

What we learned

The importance of effective teamwork and collaboration cannot be overstated. Through brainstorming and working together, we were able to come up with ideas that none of us would have thought of individually. Collaboration not only speeds up problem-solving but also fuels innovation, allowing us to tackle challenges from multiple perspectives and create something truly impactful. For many members of our team, this was their first hackathon. It was a steep learning curve, but it also became a powerful lesson in adaptability and resilience. One of the biggest takeaways was the ability to learn new technologies in a short amount of time—whether it was mastering Flutter, debugging widgets, or integrating features on the fly. This experience pushed us out of our comfort zones and showed us just how much we’re capable of when we put our minds to it.

This hackathon wasn’t just about building an app; it was about growing as individuals and as a team. We learned to communicate effectively, divide tasks efficiently, and support each other through the inevitable ups and downs. It was a reminder that great things happen when people come together with a shared goal and a willingness to learn.

What's next for Untitled

We see huge potential in expanding our app's capabilities. While we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished in just 48 hours, we know there’s still room for improvement and growth. Here are some future enhancements we’re excited to explore: Improve the Seamlessness of the App Let’s be honest—the app isn’t running as smoothly as we’d like it to. But hey, cut us some slack; we only had 48 hours! Moving forward, we’ll focus on optimizing performance, reducing lag, and creating a more fluid user experience. A seamless app is a happy app, and we’re committed to making Michaelwave as smooth as butter. Smart Post Recommendations One of the most exciting features we want to add is an algorithm that helps users discover the right posts—even when they’re not actively looking for them. Think of it as a personalized feed that surfaces relevant content based on your classes, interests, and past interactions. We believe this feature is crucial for the app’s long-term development, as it will keep users engaged and make the platform even more intuitive. Future DM Integration While we recognize the importance of direct messaging for private conversations, we were unable to fully integrate this feature within the 48-hour timeframe. We understand that seamless one-on-one communication is vital for our users, and we are committed to prioritizing the development and implementation of a robust and secure direct messaging system in future updates. This will allow for more intimate connections and private collaborations within the Michaelwave community.