Code & Tell Showcase (11/19 @ BU Spark!): Spotlight on Student Innovation
This semester’s final Code & Tell event at BU Spark! attracted a diverse group of student innovators, ranging from budding software engineers to aspiring social impact entrepreneurs, for an open mic-style project pitch night. The event was a mix of creative energy, peer feedback, and real-world technical problem solving.
Here’s a summary of presentations with a special feature of the winner, S
ubbie:
WINNER: Subbie by Effan Audi Khalif:
Pitch:
Effan Audi (pictured), a CS and Economics major, addressed a common pain point among college students: finding affordable, trustworthy housing for short term stays. Inspired by his own struggles as an intern in New York, Audi developed Subbie, a secure subletting platform similar to Airbnb, but exclusive for students.
Key features include:
Verified Student Access: Double authentication using a school email domain database and Supabase verification (similar to Google Auth), ensuring that only verified college students can access the platform.
Map-Based Browsing: Users view available sublets on a map filtered by area, and only a radius is shown (not exact address) for privacy.
Integrated Review and Messaging: Each listing comes with amenities, host info, an estimated commute time via Google Maps API, and the ability to message hosts, along with instant email notifications.
AI Description Generator: To speed up listing creation, Subbie uses AI to auto-generate enticing descriptions based on user input.
Click here to access the pitch deck: Subbie
Other projects included:
Missed Connections by Joseph Marotta:
A location based social media app aiming to spark new friendships by connecting students who pass each other on campus, using location checkins and daily “missed connections.”
Check out the app at https://missedconnections.tech/
Stalk Market by Jack He:
An educational investing game blending realism (geometric Brownian motion, live economic data) with an intuitive portfolio-building interface, designed to teach investing principles to beginners with simulated risk and feedback.
Click here to watch a demo of Stalk Market
SurveyBridge by Selina Zhang & Rose Wei:
Dual-sided platform matching student researchers with survey respondents, with incentives (earn “diamonds” for completing surveys), anti-cheat mechanisms (IP/time checks & AI response validation), and instant access to research analytics.
Care Atlas by Phillips Le, Kenneth Silvestre, Jose Luis De Los Santos, and Adi Almukhamet:
An interactive visualization tool mapping healthcare disparities across Boston by using open data, helping NGOs and policymakers optimize clinic and resource allocation for greater equity.
Let's Dress Up by Wynn Musselman:
A rather whimsical game coded in Java Swing, featuring a customizable character responding to thematic fashion prompts: an exercise in self-expression and coding creativity.
Here’s a snapshot from the game: dress me
Hack4Impact & Elite Footballers Web Project by Trevor Kerxhalli, Josh IIano, Emily Hsu, Adam Godel:
BU’s chapter presented recent web dev projects for nonprofits, including a modern showcase/referral/registration system for high school soccer tournaments to elevate athlete exposure and streamline event management.
Check out BU Hack4Impact’s LinkedIn
Closing Thoughts: Subbie’s victory underscores the need for familiar, student centered tools in everyday campus life. Each project, from social wellness to housing, investing, survey research, and community health, is a peak to BU’s culture and values: students building real solutions for their peers and society at large.