At HyperVerge Academy, we support people from under-resourced backgrounds to get jobs in tech. This requires completing tasks designed to build their skills. But reviewing their submissions and providing meaningful feedback was a challenge. Here, we saw an opportunity for AI and built SensAI--a coach that doesn't just mark answers right or wrong, but pushes a learner to think deeply about their approach and nudges them in the right direction.
Our early results were encouraging—learners valued the feedback and started using it to work towards the right solutions. In 2023, we tried something similar but it didn’t work. Looking back, we found two key reasons:
AI alone wasn’t enough. Earlier, we used AI to create the entire curriculum. But the questions lacked variety and depth. This time, we designed 200+ tasks ourselves, using AI as an assistant.
Second, people need to feel a sense of progress. We introduced streaks and leaderboards, but instead of tracking tasks completed, we rewarded consistency—attempting at least one task daily. Learners qujckly became invested in extending their streaks.
Soon, we realised that the chat interface is not intuitive for programming. So, we integrated a code editor where they can run their code and see the output before submitting it, combining the best of Replit and ChatGPT.
Moving beyond text was the next step. Soft skills—like explaining ideas clearly or writing professional emails—are critical for jobs, but 1:1 coaching cannot scale. Letting learners speak, with AI analyzing their speech, enabled us to assess confidence, pronunciation, grammar and clarity. We also let educators set their own scoring criteria for a given task, moving beyond questions with a fixed correct answer. This opened up new ways to practice communication skills, written and verbal, effectively.
We closed the loop with AI-generated insights. Educators can see where every learner is struggling and provide tailored support. SensAI has grown from an AI coach to a complete learning platform—one that helps learners build skills, get feedback, and track progress, while letting educators create cohorts, design courses, observe and iterate.
SensAI has enabled us to upskill learners in programming, logical reasoning, communication skills, and help them prepare for interviews. Beyond HyperVerge Academy, teams within HyperVerge are already using SensAI for onboarding new team members, certifying sales teams, and designing courses for lead generation.
SensAI is open-source. We run a small community of builders in AI + Education. For us, this is one step toward realizing the potential of AI in education. Join us, and let us take the next steps together.
Try SensAI: https://bit.ly/sensai_hva
Join the community: https://bit.ly/sensai_community
Tutorials: https://bit.ly/sensai_docs
Contribute: https://bit.ly/sensai_repo
Roadmap: https://bit.ly/sensai_roadmap