Quokka: Simplifying Life for International Students in Australia
Discover Quokka, an AI-powered platform helping international students in Australia navigate visa rules, housing, and government updates with ease.
Quokka
Life in Australia, simplified.
ETECH CHALLENGE — GROUP PRESENTATION
Too much information. Not enough clarity.
Visa rules are complex and frequently changing
Information is spread across multiple government sites
Language barriers increase the risk of misunderstanding
Students feel stressed, uncertain, and misinformed — leading to poor decision making.
JTBD Framework
Functional Jobs
Understand and manage visa requirements
Stay updated on policy changes
Find affordable housing, jobs, and services
Emotional Jobs
Reduce stress and uncertainty
Feel safe and supported in a new country
Gain confidence in navigating systems
Social Jobs
Connect with other students
Feel a sense of belonging
Share experiences and advice
Our Solution
Quokka
An all-in-one platform designed for international students in Australia.
Personalised Visa Guidance
Tailored updates based on your visa type, institution and goals.
Real-Time Government Updates
Accurate, sourced directly from the Australian government.
AI-Powered Simplification
Ask questions, get clear answers — completely in your language.
Community Support
Connect, share experiences, and learn from fellow students.
Centralised Resources
Housing, jobs, counselling, and events — all easily accessible in one place.
PRODUCT STRATEGY
Product Design Justification
Multi-Language Support
Available in multiple languages so users can navigate in their mother tongue, removing language as a barrier to critical information.
Intuitive UX for All Users
Simple, cohesive layout inspired by consumer apps like Reddit and banking apps — designed to feel familiar and easy to navigate immediately.
AI Credibility Design
The AI agent only draws from verified Australian government sources, ensuring accuracy and trustworthiness over convenience.
Emotional Design
Colour palette, mascot (Quokka), and tone are intentionally warm and approachable — reducing anxiety for students far from home.
MVP EVALUATION
Solution Validation
Validation Activity
We conducted concept testing and focus group interviews with a representative sample of international students to evaluate the MVP's effectiveness.
Key Insight 1: Credibility > Efficiency
Users prioritize the credibility of information and verified official source links over the instantaneous speed of AI responses.
Key Insight 2: Language Accessibility
Multi-language support is a core requirement to reduce the administrative stress and mental burden associated with moving to a new country.
Skills & Skill Gaps
Role & Skills
Technical Lead
End-to-end MVP creation including logical architecture and high-fidelity UI/UX design.
Rapid prototyping using industry-standard design tools (Figma).
Implemented initial functional logic of the platform.
Skill Gaps
Gap in training a proprietary ML model for legal and migration terminology.
Need for deeper Australian migration law expertise.
Current Approach
Integrated Gemini API as interim NLP engine for MVP validation.
Long-term goal: build a custom domain-specific AI model.
References & Tools
Innovation Theory
JTBD Framework
Tools Used
Prototyping & Development
Christensen, C. M. (2016)
Competing Against Luck
Foundation of Jobs to Be Done theory
Ulwick, A. W. (2016)
Jobs to be Done: From Theory to Practice
Levitt, T. (1960)
Marketing Myopia
Focusing on user's underlying needs
Osterwalder, A. (2014)
Value Proposition Design
Matching features to customer pains
Ries, E. (2011)
The Lean Startup
MVP development and validation methodology
Figma
High-fidelity prototyping and user journey mapping
Gemini API
Primary AI engine for natural language processing in the MVP
Web Deployment Tools
Initial hosting and testing of the Quokka landing page
- international-students
- australia-visa
- startup-pitch
- jtbd-framework
- product-strategy
- ai-application
- student-support