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Innovator Program

A student-led STEM initiative where members develop real apps/websites, design curriculum, and market their work.

No prior coding experience required to participate.

Intro to BranchOut! Innovator

We strive to create software to benefit the community at large. In this way, Innovator offers students a great opportunity to apply their computer science, artistic, and many other skills to work closely together in a team to achieve this goal.

Virtual · Summer-Only · No Prior Coding Experience Needed

Develop

Bring an application to life through code with your programming knowledge. Developers will work collaboratively on the technical aspect of the app to create a final product that can enhance student learning experiences. The app will have attention-grabbing points to effectively engage and encourage students to continue interacting with the app activities.

Create

Design an engaging curriculum aligned with standards. Curriculum designers will formulate course outlines, questions, and lessons to help students and general public learn material. For app- or web-based projects, they will design the screens, features, layout, and aesthetic, while conducting research to create articles and necessary materials.

Market

Promote the app's impact to reach larger audiences. The marketing team will promote apps to maximum visibility by devising strategies to gain app/website publicity, expanding through social media, contacting officials, and through other means upon official project completion.

BranchOut! Innovator is a Congressional Award-winning program.

Received 2020 US Congressional App Challenge Award

FIND YOUR ROLE

Two Ways to Join

Based on your interests, there's a place for you—either through code or by design—to contribute meaningfully and learn with the Innovator Program.

Developer

Flex your coding skills to bring to life the ideas presented by the curriculum design. Requires previous coding experience, including knowledge in app development or skills with artificial intelligence (LLMs, chatbots, etc.). May entail assessment/interview before officially starting.

Curriculum Designer

Artists, writers, and creative thinkers work together to design innovative products by building course outlines, lessons, and interactive content. Does not require previous coding experience.

OUR WORK

Previous Projects

Student teams have previously built and published apps and websites. Have a look at past Innovator projects.

SOL (Standards of Learning) Support (2023)

The SOLve app was one of Innovators first programs, designed to help Virginia students prepare for the Standards of Learning (SOL) exams. The app included an original question bank, written by the curriculum design team, to practice for the reading and mathematics sections. The backend team also created daily challenges, puzzles, and a way for students to monitor their progress over time.

SOLve

SOLve is an app created to help Virginia students improve their reading and math skills to ensure success on the Standards of Learning (SOL) test.

vCare

vCare is an all-in-one mental health app created with the purpose of providing mental health support to a variety of individuals.

AAPI Connector

The AAPI Connector is a website that provides individuals with information to strengthen the AAPI community.

Mediscribe (2025)

MediScribe is a project aimed at addressing the challenges posed by difficult-to-read medical handwriting. The Innovator team trained an optical character recognition (OCR) model capable of interpreting handwritten prescriptions and medical notes, helping improve readability and reduce the risk of transcription errors.