National Competition Challenges Students to Design Apps That Remove Barriers to Degree Completion

In partnership with Anthropic and Lovable, Stellic launches competition giving students access to free tools to design and build a working solution to a problem they've experienced during their higher education journey

SAN MATEO, Calif., July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Stellic—the Bay Area-based developer of the innovative academic planning and degree management platform that now serves more than 1 million students across 100 colleges and universities—today announced the launch of a national competition that puts the tools for redesigning college in the hands of the students who navigate it every day. The Pathfinders Challenge invites college students to design, test and build real solutions to problems they've experienced firsthand—turning the friction they've lived through into working applications that can help other students and their institutions.

Participating students will gain access to free credits for Lovable, a vibe-coding platform that enables users to build full working apps based on plain-language descriptions, or for the Claude API for students who want to build with code.

Open to any enrolled university or college student aged 18 or older in the United States, Canada, Mexico, or Australia, the Pathfinders Challenge invites students to build a solution to a problem they've personally experienced in college. Students are rarely in the room when institutions choose the systems and processes meant to serve them, and the Pathfinders Challenge puts the people who live with that friction every day in charge of fixing it. Students can enter solo or in teams of up to three, including teammates from different schools, and no formal coding experience is required.

Submissions can address any of four categories: degree planning and discovery, overcoming obstacles like cost and paperwork, campus connection and belonging, or the transition from college to career. A complete submission includes a working link, a two-minute demo video, a 500-word write-up, and a list of every tool used.

Registration is open now, giving students access to free credits for Lovable or the Claude API. Rather than asking students to work around outdated systems, the challenge asks them to imagine what those systems could look like if they were built around the people who actually use them—and then to build it.

Prizes total $12,000, including a $5,000 grand prize plus a career conversation with Stellic's leadership team, two $2,500 runner-up prizes, and four $500 category prizes. The top three teams will present live at Stellic Summit in front of college leaders from across the country, and every qualifying submission earns a digital badge for the student's portfolio. Students do not need to attend a school that uses Stellic's platform to participate.

Built to remove barriers and simplify the student journey, Stellic's suite of tools—including Progress for degree management, Care for proactive advising and roster management, and now Explore for transfer evaluation—helps institutions create more affordable, efficient, and transparent pathways to completion. Founded by Sabih Bin Wasi, a first-generation immigrant and first-generation college student, Stellic began as a student venture during his time at Carnegie Mellon University. Today, the company works with institutions of every type and size, including community colleges, public and private universities and major research institutions.

Key dates and details:

• Submissions close: August 21, 2026
• Winners announced: Early September 2026
• Finalist presentations: September 23, 2026, at Stellic Summit in Philadelphia, an annual gathering of Stellic's partner colleges

Students can register and learn more at stellic.com/pathfinders. Questions can be directed to [email protected].

About Stellic. Stellic is a leading student success and academic planning platform used by over 100 higher education institutions worldwide and more than 1 million students. The company empowers students, advisors, and administrators with modern tools to streamline degree progress, automate transfer evaluations, and make data-informed decisions that drive completion and engagement. Learn more at www.stellic.com.

SOURCE Stellic