This is a guest post by Brad Flaugher, author, consultant and founder of the Philadelphia Open Innovation Tournament, for which Technical.ly is a proud media partner.

Living up to its name, the 2025 Philadelphia Open Innovation Tournament brought together a vibrant group of innovators for an intensive weekend of AI-powered problem-solving. 

The event kicked off with a 30-minute demo by Christian Ulstrup, an expert in AI tooling and related consulting work, who shared his best practices for rapid prototyping with AI. 

Tools to help students write better, make fitness engaging, optimize digital content and streamline academic workflows

Armed with these techniques, tournament participants completed most of their work within just 90 minutes using cutting-edge AI tools — proving that rapid prototyping and customer feedback cycles are now faster than ever. They leveraged these tools to create solutions with genuine real-world applications, from helping students write better to making fitness engaging, optimizing digital content and streamlining academic workflows.

Four standout projects emerged as winners, each tackling real-world challenges. Read on for details.

Best Team: WriteQuest

Created by Megan Kane, a visiting assistant professor at Seton Hall University, WriteQuest gamifies the writing experience through structured quests and AI-powered feedback. 

The platform aims to help students develop their craft while saving instructors hours on grading. Kane describes it as “doing for writing what Duolingo did for language learning.”

Prizes: Trophy and Gust Launch
Learn more: WriteQuest Platform

Best Idea: FitQuest

Randall Spence created this gamified RPG health app that transforms fitness into an epic adventure. 

Every FitQuest workout earns experience points, every step strengthens your in-game hero, and every achievement unlocks new realms. The app integrates with Apple Health and turns the challenge of maintaining fitness motivation into an engaging fantasy quest.

Prizes: Trophy and $1,000 cash
Learn more: FitQuest Platform

Special Award: GEO

Built by Abhijnan Prakash, this generative AI-powered SEO tool leverages advanced language models to optimize content strategy, keyword research and search engine performance. The substantial prize package reflects the commercial potential of this AI agent-driven solution.

Prizes: $100,000 AWS credits and $5,000 in Lowenstein in-kind legal fees

Incubation Award: BlueBookBot

Created by Stephen Malkowicz, this compact robotic scanner digitizes handwritten student blue books into searchable, gradable documents that sync with Canvas and Google Docs.

Pilot programs at Temple University showed a 58% reduction in grading time while maintaining FERPA compliance. The solution addresses a persistent pain point in education: efficiently grading handwritten exams without compromising data security.

Prize: $25,000 NextFab Ventures incubation
Learn more: BlueBookBot Platform

Scroll down for more pics from the 2025 event.

A woman sits smiling at a table with a laptop covered in stickers; several people stand and talk in the background at an indoor event.2025 Philadelphia Open Innovation Tournament (Greg Cobb)

Two people sit at a table with a laptop, talking; one gestures with raised hands. A coffee cup and soda can are on the table. A painting hangs on the blue wall behind them.2025 Philadelphia Open Innovation Tournament (Greg Cobb)

People seated at tables in a conference room, listening attentively, with laptops and drinks in front of them.2025 Philadelphia Open Innovation Tournament (Greg Cobb)

Two people stand and smile at the camera in a conference room with other attendees in the background. There are tables, chairs, and a blank projector screen.2025 Philadelphia Open Innovation Tournament (Greg Cobb)

A man sits at a table smiling and clapping in front of a laptop, with a coffee cup and other people in the background.2025 Philadelphia Open Innovation Tournament (Greg Cobb)

A silver trophy filled with fake money sits on a table in a formal room with large windows, a podium, and a framed painting in the background.2025 Philadelphia Open Innovation Tournament trophy (Brad Flaugher)

View more photos from the event: Tournament Photo Gallery