💬 We just finished the Spring 25 semester at UCCS, and I am proud of my students who built some excellent applications in our Advanced Software Engineering course. Students shipped production-ready, AI-enhanced web apps—from a smart to-do list to a plant-ID game—using Django, external APIs, and CI/CD pipelines to identify code coverage metrics, code smells, and security vulnerabilities. Each team acted as a customer group for one group and a development group for another. They learned about full-stack development, cloud deployment solutions, agile methodologies, and teamwork, turning real-world problems into user-focused solutions.
🎧🔊 Listen to our Podcast Reflection
| Team | Project & Purpose | Key Features Built by Students | Stand-out Technical Work / Lessons Learned | Video and Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | To-Do List App – lightweight, personalized task & calendar manager for busy users | • AI-powered task suggestions • Motivational-quote widget • Dark/light mode • Progress & sharing tools |
Students navigated compromised API keys, deployment failures, and tight schedules by practicing continuous learning, diligent refactoring, and consistent team communication (image panels). | Demo Video |
| 2 | Food Scanner – barcode-scanning nutrition assistant | • Open Food Facts integration • AI-generated health score & ingredient analysis • Product comparison & allergen alerts |
Built a three-step scan/analyze/decide flow and piped data through OpenAI for real-time scoring; honed CI/CD & API data-parsing skills. | Demo Video |
| 3 | Calendai – academic planner & study hub | • Canvas assignment import • Rich notes workspace with AI summaries • Auto-generated quizzes |
Team mastered OpenAI integration inside Django, emphasized early starts & clear communication to turn challenges into growth. | Demo Video |
| 4 | Applier Pilot – end-to-end job-application helper | • AI job-description analyzer • Resume optimizer & cover-letter writer • Interview coach & fit/rejection analysis |
Surmounted a forced mid-semester pivot (LinkedIn TOS conflict) by reprioritizing features and focusing on highest user value. | Demo Video |
| 5 | CampMate – outdoor-trip planner | • Campsite search with maps & weather • AI-generated packing list • Trip calendar & “AI buddy” guide |
Engineered a robust GitHub Actions → Docker Hub → AWS pipeline; learned to tame merge conflicts and process multi-API data in Django. | Demo Video |
| 6 | AI Fitness App – adaptive personal-training coach | • Daily AI-tailored workouts • Progress analytics & calendar • Warm-up generator with external exercise GIFs |
Deployed Django + Gunicorn + nginx on Digital Ocean with auto-rebuilds; tackled merge pain when multiple devs touched shared DB schemas. | Demo Video |
| 7 | Active Interview Service (AIS) – interactive interview simulator | • Resume/job-listing upload • Text-to-speech & speech-to-text interview chat • Scorecard with visual feedback |
Wrestled with displaying results graphs and refactoring upload subsystems; refined product via customer-driven testing cycles. | Demo Video |
| 8 | LeafQuest – plant-identification & social exploration app | • Custom AI image model for plant ID • “PlantDex” collection & trivia • Leaderboards, badges, privacy controls |
Team members grew skills in neural-network tuning, Google Colab pipelines, full-stack UI/UX, Django architecture, and story-driven feature design. | Demo Video |