Arizona State University students pitch AI solutions to solve campus problems and improve experiences

Students at Arizona State University (ASU) have been pitching potential AI solutions to improve campus services and student experiences.

The AI Acceleration Student Innovation Challenge launched in January 2026, with 16 students joining in to share early AI concepts.

Students will be invited to work with experts from the AI Acceleration team for mentorship, resources, and opportunities to share their ideas.

“This is ASU at its best,” Lev Gonick, Enterprise CIO at ASU shares on LinkedIn. “Learning is not a spectator sport. This pitch event is putting platforms, tools, and technical support in the hands of this inspiring collection of students.”

Over three weeks, four teams will refine their ideas into prototypes that will be presented to the AI Acceleration leadership team before being passed on to Gonick.

So far, the teams have been developing a guided study tool, called Study Buddy, via Canvas. The tool claims to eliminate the need for hours of preparation, allowing students to spend more time on study.

Another group is creating a mental health platform capable of identifying needs at an earlier date than using self-referral, with support from AI insights. The tool aims to reach students before they feel the need to take action themselves.

An AI-powered launchpad for student entrepreneurs and a new social engagement platform designed to improve academic and campus life are also in the works.

“This is a new group of students that started in June of 2025, and seeing them progress over time has really been so amazing,” shares Abang Faith Timoh, Product Manager at ASU. “I'm so excited to see how they're going to build their ideas into fruition and see how this can shape the future of the next project our team is going to work on.”