A way to QTap into your schedule

Engineering students partner with Queen’s IT Services to make iPhone app for students

Zach Yale (left) and Rony Besprozvanny (right)
Image by: Arwin Chan
Zach Yale (left) and Rony Besprozvanny (right)

What started as a first-year project has turned into an iPhone app for Queen’s students.

Last year, Rony Besprozvanny and Zach Yale, both Sci ’18, partnered up for an assignment in their APSC 100 class. For the assignment, they were tasked with taking an Android-based app and updating it for Apple’s iOS. 

While Besprozvanny took on a behind-the-scenes role in programming the app, Yale was in charge of the overall vision and user interface.

The two engineering students, with the help of Nick Seale, Sci ’18, created EngTap.

The assignment was only the beginning. They say they became so passionate about the app that they continued to work on it with the help and funding of Queen’s IT Services. They’ve now expanded the app to cater to all Queen’s students.

“The goal was to make an app that looks good, that someone would have on their home screen,” Yale said. “We wanted to be jealous of the first-year students that could use it this year.”

QTap allows users to log into their SOLUS account to view their class schedules, which are accompanied by a map of campus. It also provides students with the locations and information on other on-campus resources, such as food services, emergency contacts, career services and counseling services.

The app was developed with first-year students in mind, but it’s accessible for all students. As of Oct. 4, the app has been downloaded an estimated 2,700 times and opened approximately 60,000 times, according to the team’s statistics.

“You can tap the app once and it shows you your schedule,” Yale said. “All the information you need is a tap away.”

The process of developing the app has been challenging, Besprozvanny and Yale said, but they’re grateful to the University for providing them with the support and freedom to design the app.

“It was us as students taking something we were really passionate about and they provided the resources,” Yale said.

Besprozvanny and Yale say the best part about their experience has been the feedback they’ve received so far from their peers.  

“We go to our lectures and see people using it. That’s the most enjoyable part,” Yale said.

The team has also created an email account to receive feedback and suggestions from students on what they’d like to see from QTap in the future.

“We want to take a step back and look for a reaction,” Yale said.

The team says they’ve been working on fixing some bugs in the current version and will continue to work on an update for the new iOS 9.

Tags

app development, innovation, iPhone, QTAP

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