College is about more than attending classes. It is about preparing for the future and taking advantage of every opportunity along the way. Four computer science students at The University of Texas Permian Basin have done exactly that.
In February, Hamza Bachnak, Panhapiseth Lim, Justin Poole, and Alejandro Sotelo traveled to The University of Texas at Dallas to compete in the Axxess Hackathon, a fast-paced competition centered on healthcare innovation. The event drew teams from across the globe, including participants from India, Botswana, and Nigeria, placing UTPB students on an international stage.
During the hackathon, teams were challenged to design and develop a solution to a healthcare problem within just 30 hours. This year’s prompt called for a diagnostic assistant capable of streamlining documentation during consultations, supporting telehealth and emergency room triage, offering multilingual capabilities, and meeting compliance standards.
The UTPB team responded by creating MedScribe, a mobile application designed to improve efficiency and communication in clinical settings. Recognizing that physicians often spend valuable time documenting patient visits, and that language barriers can complicate care, the team developed an app that listens to doctor-patient conversations in real time and automatically generates detailed visit notes. 
As Panhapiseth Lim explained, “MedScribe identifies diagnoses, tracks medication changes, and flags the urgency of each case, helping providers focus more on the patient and less on paperwork.”
The team combined their individual ideas to build a solution with both strong technical foundations and long-term potential. “We decided on an approach that had the best technical stack and the most promising features to expand during the hackathon,” said Justin Poole.
One of the biggest challenges was ensuring patient privacy while maintaining the app’s ability to learn and improve. “Everything stays privately on the device and is never shared anywhere, and the app gets smarter over time without ever putting any patient information at risk,” Lim said.
After 30 intense hours of development, the team presented MedScribe to a panel of judges. When the awards were announced, the UTPB team earned first place, an achievement that reflected both their innovation and dedication.
“We worked almost nonstop overnight, and after making the long trip from Midland to Dallas, it felt great to see our hard work pay off,” said Poole.
“It felt incredible knowing the judges saw real value in what we built,” Lim added. He credited the app’s functionality and scalability as key factors that set their project apart from the competition.
The students’ participation was made possible by the Falcon Research and Educational Opportunities program (FREO), which helps cover travel expenses for academic and professional events.
“FREO opened the door for me to pursue research seriously, compete at a national level, and represent UTPB in spaces where we might not always be expected,” Lim said.
The Hackathon also presented an opportunity to learn and apply their classroom knowledge into the real world. Lim was happy to have the opportunity to put his research to practice through this challenge. He was able to apply his knowledge and work quickly through the challenge to help the team rise to the top. They were also able to learn about different app builder technology and invaluable teamwork skills.
Their success highlights not only the talent of UTPB students but also the power of opportunity, collaboration, and innovation in shaping future leaders in technology and healthcare.
