Anthropic-backed Claude Builder Clubs highlight new student projects across US campuses

Students at UT Austin and UMass used Anthropic’s Claude models in a series of hackathon events, creating tools focused on productivity, learning and human-in-the-loop AI.

A series of LinkedIn posts from student ambassadors and participants has highlighted new activity across Anthropic’s campus builder communities, including hackathons at UT Austin and UMass Amherst.

At UT Austin, Business Analytics student Nikoloz (Nick) Sharvashidze shared that he won the Texas Claude Builder Club Hackathon with Chiwo, a productivity tool built in one hour using Claude’s API. In his post, Nikoloz says, “Super excited to share that I just won the Texas Claude Builder Club Hackathon, the official Anthropic-backed AI builders club on the UT Austin campus.”

He describes the tool as “a fast, human-in-the-loop productivity tool that auto-organizes assignments, deadlines, and tasks using Claude’s API,” adding that it adapts to a student’s workflow rather than forcing new patterns.

HackUMass and UT Austin events show mix of early builders and new users

At UMass Amherst, Claude Ambassador Maxim Lee shared that “75+ people in two hours” stopped by the Claude table at HackUMass, noting interest from both returning builders and students encountering Claude for the first time. Maxim comments that many were building “AI study assistants, healthcare chatbots for underserved communities, even freshmen experimenting with multi-agent systems.”

He adds that the most notable conversations were with students unfamiliar with Claude’s capabilities. Maxim Lee says, “It’s always rewarding to introduce the most capable model they didn’t know existed.”

He thanked attendees for stopping by and encouraged students to join the campus mailing list.

Human-centered design features strongly in project outcomes

Another UT Austin ambassador, César Monagas Romero, reflected on the focus of the HumAInity Hackathon. He explains that the event centered on human-in-the-loop AI rather than rapid prototyping for its own sake. César says, “I didn't want to just introduce people to powerful tools. I wanted to ask: what should we build with them?”

Winners included Chiwo by Nikoloz Sharvashidze; EduClaude, a learning assistant built by Kaustubh Sonawane and Priscilla Ye; and MedClarify, created by Orry Huang, Jose Gurrola, Tarun Patanjali and Anish Palley, which translates medical jargon into plain language without adding unsolicited advice.

Reflecting on the event, César Monagas Romero says, “Being an ambassador wasn't just about showing people what Claude can do... it was about creating space to ask: how do we build things that actually help people?”

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