Finding a classroom can be one of the first challenges a student faces in their early days around a new university campus. For fourth-year mechanical engineering student Quadric Francisco, his own experience getting around campus led him to develop a tool aimed at making student life easier.
Francisco began working on UMaps during his first year at the U of M. He said, as a new student, he found it difficult to navigate campus while also adjusting to university life. He wanted to create something that could address a problem experienced by many students.
“I didn’t know how to get around campus. I didn’t know what was around campus. And in your first year, it’s too much of a stress to even try to figure out what’s on campus because you’re balancing so many other things,” Francisco said.
The idea initially focused on an indoor pathfinder that could help students navigate campus buildings. Over time, Francisco expanded the project beyond directions.
“UMaps evolved from, ‘Okay, let’s make a better map,’ to, ‘Okay, let’s improve the student experience and improve all of the aspects that we can,’” he said.
The current app includes pathfinding alongside information students may need throughout their day. Users can access their schedules from their phone’s home or lock screen and find information about buses and parking.
Francisco has largely developed the newest version of UMaps himself. While volunteers contributed at earlier stages, he currently handles development, marketing and user support.
According to Francisco, the project also became a learning process for him. Not being a computer science student, Francisco initially taught himself coding through documentation. As artificial intelligence coding tools improved, he said he began incorporating them into his workflow to make development more efficient and leave time for other parts of the project.
As UMaps development took place alongside his engineering studies, Francisco said maintaining motivation was one of the biggest challenges. For much of the past three years, the project had a small online following, he noted. Interest increased after the latest version became available to students this September 2026.
Francisco said that within roughly the first two weeks of its Sept. 3 beta launch, UMaps recorded more than 2,100 verified downloads and 13,000 route searches. He said half of its users were first-year students.
Francisco mentioned adding more features in the app focused on everyday student needs. One planned addition is restaurant information that students could filter based on dietary requirements, including halal options and allergens. Another is real-time tracking for the campus shuttle bus. A simulated version has already been developed, with Francisco working toward displaying the shuttle’s actual location and arrival information.
He is also testing an events feature designed to give students one place to find and save information about activities on campus. Another planned area brings student resources together so users do not have to search through multiple websites and links to find relevant services.
Francisco said some of these functions could be particularly useful for students with accessibility needs or specific dietary requirements.
Privacy has also been considered in the app’s development. Francisco said the beta requires a student email for verification, but the email is not linked to other information. According to Francisco, location, schedules and preferences are stored within the app rather than shared with it. Users can also turn off personalized data reporting and skip survey questions if they wish.
Francisco hopes UMaps will eventually become a sustainable service that remains available after he graduates. “The main vision here is, I want UMaps to be a tool that helps students, not just today, but in the future as well,” Francisco said.
His long-term goal is for the platform to provide information students need throughout university, “from orientation all the way to graduation.”
Students interested in trying UMaps can download the app at myumaps.ca/mobile.
