natIgnite 2026 2nd place - GrantPath
Second place
$1,500 CAD seed funding
$1,500 CAD in-kind services
Team information
Team Name: GrantPath
Team Lead: Arhm Iqbal
Team Members:
Ishan Moudgil
Lubomyr Soroka
Mohammad Garewal
Riya Salian
Problem Provider: Mike Lyons
Project summary
A guided chatbot that helps students find disability-related funding and prepare complete, confident grant applications.
Problem statement
Many students with mental health conditions, learning disabilities, chronic illness, or accessibility needs qualify for funding but never apply, because eligibility rules, documentation requirements, and forms are confusing and intimidating. At the University of Alberta alone, an estimated $60 million in student aid goes unclaimed.
Solution
A guided workflow: a plain-language chatbot identifies potential eligibility (e.g., the Canada Student Grant for Students with Disabilities), voice-enabled clinician-visit rehearsals help students practise explaining their needs, and the tool helps assemble a complete, professional submission package. Built with Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Supabase, and OpenAI models with Whisper for voice input.
Key Highlights
Turns unstructured personal answers into clean application fields
Voice rehearsal helps students prepare without diagnosing or replacing a clinician
Directly targets unclaimed disability-related student aid
External Links