Ping — Discover & Create Local Learning & Community Events

A location-based app that helps students and communities discover, join, and create local events for learning, networking, and growth.

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Inspiration

Many students in under-resourced communities miss out on valuable opportunities — workshops, meetups, scholarship fairs, and skill bootcamps — simply because they never hear about them in time.
We wanted to create a tool that makes education and community learning opportunities as easy to find as a nearby coffee shop.

What it does

Ping is a location-based app that allows users to:

  • Discover nearby educational and community events via an interactive map.
  • Tap on event pins to view details, attendees, and chat groups.
  • Easily create events in under a minute with a title, description, category, and location.
  • Connect with attendees who share similar interests.

How we built it

  • Design: Interactive UI built in Figma for rapid prototyping.
  • Planned MVP Tech Stack:
    • Frontend: Flutter for cross-platform development (iOS + Android).
    • Backend: Firebase (Auth, Firestore, Storage, Push Notifications).
    • Maps: Google Maps API for event pins and user location tracking.
  • For the hackathon pitch, we created mock event data to simulate real-time functionality.

Challenges we ran into

  1. Balancing simplicity for first-time users with feature richness for event organizers.
  2. Figuring out a sustainable way to populate events in low-activity areas.
  3. Managing cross-platform design consistency between iOS and Android.
  4. Working under tight time constraints while keeping a polished look and clear pitch.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Designed a clean, intuitive interface that can be understood in seconds.
  • Created a concept that directly supports educational accessibility in underserved areas.
  • Developed a pitch-ready prototype in under one week.

What we learned

  • Event discovery tools need social layers (chat, attendee profiles) to keep engagement high.
  • Accessibility features like offline mode and language support are crucial in low-resource areas.
  • Rapid prototyping tools like Figma speed up collaboration and feedback loops.

What's next for Ping — Discover & Create Local Learning & Community Events

  • AI Recommendations: Suggest events based on user interests and location history.
  • Offline Mode: Access saved event details without internet connection.
  • Language Translation: Make events accessible across multilingual communities.
  • Partnerships: Work with local nonprofits, schools, and community centers to seed events.

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