BUBuddy

BUBuddy – matches you with buddies, connect the dots of your campus life with interest, and lets you post and connect to the community of the university in a simple and safe way.

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Inspiration

We were inspired by Dcard , the popular Taiwanese campus community app. However, we saw a clear gap: many junior and international students ** at HKBU struggle to find friends or a supportive community in a new environment. When no one listens or helps with stress, students often feel ** lonely and lost .

What it does

BUBuddy is an all-in-one platform ** that helps students find their perfect buddy, join university activities, manage their **digital wellbeing , and boost productivity — all in one simple place.

  1. Privacy-first design with HKBU email verification to block outsiders and prevent inappropriate content.
  2. Smart buddy matching using filters for interests, year of study, and major to find a soulmate with same interests.
  3. Event board where student unions and clubs can post invitations to encourage participation. School events prioritized (e.g., mindfulness workshops) so lost or stressed students can easily find ways to express feelings and connect, with a view to foster a healthy community and assist students in mental wellbeing. Students will never miss important school activities anymore — all events and announcements are now centralized in the platform instead of getting buried and forgotten in email inboxes.
  4. NEW: AI Chatbox powered by HKBU GenAI — students can instantly ask anything, e.g. “How do I calculate my GPA?”, “Where is the nearest study room?” or “Navigate me to the lecture hall”. Get accurate, campus-specific answers in seconds.

Our motto: putting students’ goals and wellbeing first while creating a safe, supportive community.

Everything is accessible in one clean dashboard for an elevated user experience.

How we built it

We developed BUBuddy as a modern web app using a clean and scalable tech stack:

  1. Frontend: React + TypeScript (60.0%) + Vite + React Router
  2. Styling: CSS (35.3%) for beautiful, intuitive design
  3. Backend & Database: Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, Storage, Hosting)
  4. Additional tools: Python (3.0%) with BeautifulSoup, Cloudflare, Git + GitHub, // HKBU GenAI API // and AI integration for smarter matching, personalised wellness/productivity recommendations // and the AI Chatbox
  5. Languages breakdown: JavaScript (1.5%) and HTML (0.2%)

A team of 5 members worked efficiently — 2 focused on pitching & presentation, 3 on full software development.

Challenges we ran into

Main Challenge : UX/UI design — we wanted an intuitive single dashboard that included all functions (matching, events, chat, profile, wellness tracker, productivity dashboard // and the new AI Chatbox) without feeling cluttered or overwhelming.

Additional Challenge: Integrating the real-time, AI Chatbox (handling complex queries like GPA calculation and campus navigation) while keeping responses fast, accurate, and non-intrusive.

How we overcame it:

Leveraged team strengths with clean React + TypeScript architecture. Iterated quickly using Firebase real-time feedback and Vite fast builds. Fine-tuned HKBU GenAI prompts + efficient component design so the chat window is just one click away and never slows down the app. Kept every feature just one click away.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  1. Built a fully functional, privacy-first platform with real-time features and HKBU email verification in limited time.
  2. Seamlessly integrated digital health & productivity tools with social matching, official events and the AI Chatbox.
  3. Created a single clean dashboard that solves multiple student pain points (loneliness, missed events, poor digital habits, confusion about GPA or campus navigation).
  4. Achieved strict content moderation and personalised AI functions while keeping the app simple and beautiful.
  5. Delivered a polished product as a 5-person team by playing to everyone’s strengths.

What we learned

  1. User-centric design is everything — especially for stressed students; a clean interface can dramatically reduce overwhelm.
  2. Firebase + Vite enables incredibly fast iteration and real-time features that feel magical.
  3. Combining social features with digital wellbeing tools and AI Chatbox creates deeper engagement than generic platforms.
  4. HKBU-specific focus and GenAI integration make the product far more relevant and powerful. Great teamwork (pitching + dev split) turns limited time into a professional-level outcome.

What's next for BUBuddy

Stage 1: Launch exclusively for HKBU students to build a strong, verified community.

Stage 2: After refinement and user feedback, expand to other universities across Hong Kong and beyond. We believe BUBuddy can reduce loneliness, boost mental and digital health, increase productivity, and dramatically improve campus participation for thousands of students.

We are excited to show how BUBuddy turns “lonely and lost” into “connected, healthy, productive, and supported” — starting right here at HKBU!

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