Study Buddy: AI-Powered Student Success Assistant

This is a submission for the Heroku "Back to School" AI Challenge

What I Built

Study Buddy AI Assistant: Intelligent Back-to-School Platform
The Problem We Solve
Academic Overwhelm in Modern Education

Students struggle with time management across multiple subjects
Information overload makes it hard to focus on key concepts
Lack of personalized study plans leads to inefficient learning
Assessment anxiety from unpredictable quiz formats
Isolation when studying complex topics without guidance
Our AI-Powered Solution
Core Features

1. Intelligent Study Planning

AI Schedule Generator: Creates optimized weekly study plans based on courses, deadlines, and available time
Smart Prioritization: Automatically weights subjects based on deadlines and difficulty
Adaptive Scheduling: Adjusts plans as priorities change

1. Personalized AI Tutoring

24/7 Study Companion: Patient, encouraging AI tutor available anytime
Step-by-Step Explanations: Breaks down complex concepts into digestible parts
Multi-Subject Support: Handles math (LaTeX formatting), science, humanities, and more
Citation-Ready: Provides source references when working with uploaded materials

1. Dynamic Assessment Creation

Custom Quiz Generation: Creates practice tests from any study material
Adaptive Difficulty: Adjusts question complexity based on student level
Instant Feedback: Provides explanations for both correct and incorrect answers
Multiple Question Types: Multiple choice, short answer, and essay formats

1. Progress Analytics

Learning Insights: Tracks study time, mastery levels, and achievement streaks
Visual Progress: Charts and graphs showing improvement over time
Goal Setting: Helps students set and achieve realistic learning objectives
Technical Innovation
Hybrid AI Architecture
Multi-Provider Support: Seamlessly switches between Heroku AI and Google Gemini
Intelligent Fallbacks: Local algorithms ensure functionality even when AI services fail
Cost Optimization: Routes requests to most efficient provide

Category

Build an AI-Powered Back to School Experience

Demo

github : link

How I Used Heroku AI

Implemented: Managed Inference and Agents
I integrated Heroku Managed Inference and Agents - the core AI service that provides access to foundation models via OpenAI-compatible REST APIs.

Implementation Details
Auto-detects available providers
Prefers Heroku AI over Gemini when configured
Graceful fallback mechanism

Technical Implementation

Primary: Heroku Managed Inference (OpenAI-compatible)
Fallback: Google Gemini API
Local algorithms: When AI services unavailable

1. AI Response Reliability Challenge: AI services can fail or return malformed JSON

Solution: Multi-layered fallback system

1. Cross-Provider Compatibility Challenge: Different AI APIs have incompatible formats

Solution: Unified message interface
Future Multi-Agent Opportunities
Potential Enhancements:

RAG Agent - Document processing with pgvector
Progress Tracker Agent - Learning analytics
Recommendation Agent - Personalized study paths
MCP Integration - Tool coordination between agents