Students at Purdue turn AI curiosity into community through Anthropic’s Claude Builder Club

The Purdue-based Claude Builder Club, launched with support from Anthropic, has grown to include over 100 student members exploring applied AI development.

The Claude Builder Club at Purdue University has grown into a community of more than 100 students learning and experimenting with generative AI, according to LinkedIn posts by Kalyan Archakam and Apuroopa Kavikondala, both student ambassadors for Anthropic.

Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI platform, partners with universities and research communities to promote responsible AI development through its Claude Builder and Student Ambassador initiatives.

Archakam, who co-founded the Purdue Claude Builder Club, said the group began as a small initiative among students interested in exploring AI beyond coursework. “When we started the Claude Builder Club @ Purdue, we didn't really know what it would become,” he wrote. “The roadmap wasn't really clear, and it was just a few students who believed that AI could be more than just buzzwords and assignments.”

He added that the community has since hosted workshops led by Anthropic researchers and organized a hackathon attended by more than 100 students. The club now runs weekly sessions focused on practical experimentation with Claude, ranging from personal productivity tools to projects designed for social impact.

Student-led approach to responsible AI

Kavikondala, who serves as Vice President of the club, described how the initiative has helped students move from general interest in AI to applied understanding. “Students who just use the term 'AI' loosely but didn't know how exactly to use it now have the skills to get the best results with their new prompts,” she said. “Students who never even heard of the tool now have Claude merch in their rooms. And students who wanted to make an impact but didn't know where to start can now do that with their new Claude Pro accounts.”

She added that she has been working alongside Archakam and Aryan Srivastava “for Anthropic as a Claude Student Ambassador and VP of the Claude Builder Club” and that the team’s work includes leading weekly club meetings and hosting workshops on agentic AI and prompt engineering.

The Claude Builder Club’s leadership team includes Nikita S., Nakul I., Pranav Geet Seelam, Deepansh Saxena, and Aadya Pawar, who coordinate events and manage club operations.

Archakam credited the students’ curiosity as the driving force behind the club’s growth, saying: “What makes this community special isn’t just the tech—it’s the curiosity. The students who show up every week ready to learn, test, break, and rebuild. The ones who aren’t afraid to ask ‘why not?’ when trying something new with Claude.”

Kavikondala added: “Studying for classes, vibe coding, and making a difference in the world just got a whole lot easier. We can't wait to see what's next for the Claude Builder Club @ Purdue, but until then, here's to the age of AI and figuring out everything that we can accomplish with it.”

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