Temple University · CIS Department

Building AI That Matters.

OpenOwls is a student group at Temple University where we build real, open-source AI-powered projects — useful tools that faculty actually use, shipped in 4-week sprints.

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Why OpenOwls

The gap between
class and career.

Courses teach theory. The industry wants AI fluency and real deliverables. OpenOwls bridges that gap by building actual tools, in the open, with modern AI workflows.

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Real Portfolio

Ship projects employers can see on GitHub — not homework, but tools people actually use.

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AI Fluency

Work with Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, and open-source LLMs from day one — the tools shaping modern engineering.

4-Week Sprints

Ideate, build, demo, publish. Every sprint ends with something live. Momentum over perfection.

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Faculty-Backed

Projects have real demand from Temple faculty — you're solving problems that matter, not toy exercises.

What We're Building

Current Projects

Each project solves a real problem for our faculty or students. Projects span categories including AI in Education and AI in Finance — practical demand is the only requirement to make the list.

Building

Accessibility Automator

An AI-powered tool that scans course slide decks for WCAG accessibility violations — missing alt text, low contrast, broken reading order — and suggests fixes automatically. Built to solve the real deadline pressure Temple faculty face with accessibility compliance.

Python Canvas API Claude AI WCAG PowerPoint
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Planned

AI Career Coach

A personalized AI career management app for Temple CS seniors — resume analysis, job match scoring, interview prep, and application tracking, all tailored to the current tech job market.

React Python Claude AI Resume Parsing Job APIs
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Building

Owl Jeopardy

An AI-powered Jeopardy-style review game that ingests your Canvas course materials and automatically generates categories and questions — so faculty can run an engaging last-lecture review session without writing a single question by hand.

React Canvas API Claude AI Node.js WebSockets
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Planned

Owl Street

An AI-powered trading platform for learning and exploration — live pricing charts for US equities, paper trading, price alerts, and AI-driven market insights. Think TradingView, built by Temple students.

React Python Claude AI Finance API WebSockets
The Process

One sprint.
One shipped project.

Every 4 weeks is a new sprint, a new project, a new skill unlocked. All projects follow a Spec-Driven Development process — specs first, then code. Read the SDD Docs →

01

Ideate

Pick a real problem. AI tools help with research and scoping.

02

Build

Pair with AI — Claude Code, Copilot — to ship fast.

03

Demo

Present to peers and faculty. Get real feedback.

04

Publish

Open-source it. Build your portfolio.

All of our projects are open-source — you can find every repo at our GitHub organization ↗.

Our Story

How We Begin

OpenOwls was founded by the enigmatic Professor X-Owl — curious about how it all began? Read our origin story →

Join OpenOwls
this summer.

We meet every other week. Everything we build is open-source and community-first. First sprint kicks off soon — bring your curiosity and your laptop.

Requirements to Join

Faculty Advisors

  • Prof. Alex Pang
  • Prof. John Fiore
  • Prof. Sonny Chang
  • Prof. Sanchari Biswas
  • Prof. Derek Fisher