A team of Winona State University Computer Science students took first place in the College Bracket at the 2025 Northland Hackathon, a program that “empowers high school and college students across Minnesota to build real-world tech projects and gain their first hands-on experience in the tech industry.”
The group’s winning project, QuickNoteAI, is a smart note-taking web application that allows users to input lengthy notes and receive concise, AI-generated summaries.
The team, made up of Winona State Computer Science majors, included Bishesh Shahi, Joseph Phillips, Ritesh Shah, SeungJun Jung, and Zehuan Wang—who each brought a unique skill set to the project.
Ritesh Shah ’26 led the backend and database development and first proposed the project idea after the Hackathon announced its theme, “Automate the Boring Stuff,” the night before the competition.
He explained that quick notetaking and summarizing was something he often struggled with, so he stayed up the night before the Hack Day to plan the project structure.
“I thought it would be great to automate this ‘boring’ stuff, and that is how QuickNoteAI came to be,” said Ritesh.
Team leader Bishesh Shahi ’25, along with SeungJun Jung ’25, handled full-stack development. Meanwhile, fellow team members Joseph Phillips ’25 focused on UI/UX design, and Zehuan Wang ’25 specialized in frontend development.
Both Bishesh and Zehuan emphasized the power of teamwork and the support behind the project.
“I led an amazing team, and together we brought QuickNoteAI to life through late-night brainstorming and shared passion,” said Bishesh. “This experience has truly shaped me as a leader and innovator.”
“Winning first place at the Northland Hackathon was an amazing experience and a highlight of my time at Winona State,” said Zehaun. “I’m grateful to the Winona State Computer Science Department and our professors for giving us the skills, support, and opportunities to succeed in challenges like this.”
