UW GIX — Spring 2026

TECHIN 510

Programming for Digital and Physical User Interfaces
University of Washington • Global Innovation Exchange

A note on how this site was made: This course website and its slide decks were generated by AI and reviewed by the instructor. You may notice some content that isn't perfect — that's intentional. Part of learning to work with AI is understanding both what it does well and where it falls short. Consider it a live exhibit of the good and the not-so-good of AI-generated content.

Course Overview

Course Logistics

Schedule
Monday 1:30 – 4:20 PM
Location
GIX 231, Steve Ballmer Building
Credits
3 credits
Prerequisite
TECHIN 509 or equivalent
Instructor
Dr. Luyao Niu — luyaoniu@uw.edu
Grader
Auli Badoni — aulibads@uw.edu
Format
Short lectures + hands-on projects
Textbook
None required
Assessment

Grading

50%
Lab Assignments

Individual coding labs submitted weekly

10%
Individual Project

Personal website for job search or PhD application

40%
Final Project

Client-developer pairs: real problem, real solution

What You Will Submit

Assignments

Lab Assignments (50%)

9 individual coding labs that build on each week’s topic. You will go from prompting your first Streamlit app (Week 1) to deploying a tested full-stack application (Week 8). Labs are due the following Monday at 11:59 PM.

Live Interview Weeks: At select weeks, GIX staff will be on-site as interviewees. You are expected to apply your user-research skills to interview them and develop software solutions that address their needs. Outstanding solutions may earn bonus points, evaluated jointly by the instructor and the interviewee.

Individual Project (10%)

Build a personal website that showcases who you are. This can serve your job search, PhD application, or portfolio. Due May 4. You choose the design and tech stack.

The Big One — 40% of Your Grade

Final Project

Every student plays two roles with two different partners: you propose one project as a client and build someone else’s project as a developer. This mirrors how real software gets made—one person owns the problem, another builds the solution.

Two Roles, Two Partners

Client

The Problem Owner

  • Define the problem and write the spec
  • Review all code and give actionable feedback
  • Accept or reject deliverables
  • Present the final product on Demo Day
Deliverables

Client-00, Client-01, Client-02, Client-03

Developer

The Builder

  • Architect the system and choose the stack
  • Implement using agentic engineering (AI-first)
  • Write tests, deploy, and hand off a working product
  • Respond to code reviews within 48 hours
Deliverables

Developer-01, Developer-02, Developer-03, Developer-04

How Pairing Works

1
Clients pitch — Post your project idea as a GitHub Issue in the course marketplace. Include problem statement, desired outcome, stack preference, and scope.
2
Developers browse — Read pitches, express interest in up to 3 projects, and negotiate terms including the GIX Bucks development fee.
3
Pairs form — Client and developer agree on scope and fee. They create a shared project repo with a SPEC.md and GitHub Issues for each feature.

GIX Bucks Economy

Every project has a market value. GIX Bucks make that value visible—and investable.

Starting Capital

Every student receives 100 GIX Bucks at the start of the quarter. Clients pay a negotiated development fee (typically 10–40 bucks) to their developer.

Development Fee

The fee is negotiated between client and developer based on project complexity, stack difficulty, and AI requirements. Developers receive the fee as additional capital.

Investment Round

On Demo Day, every student invests all remaining bucks across projects they believe in. You cannot invest in your own project or the one you developed.

Bonus Points

Net profit (investment received − 100) is normalized into bonus points.

Bankruptcy Rule

Clients whose remaining GIX Bucks fall below zero after Demo Day are considered bankrupt and will receive 50% of the survival challenge assignment grades. Clients earning profits will earn normalized bonus points. Budget your development fee wisely.

Week 10 is Demo Day. Clients present the final product as a demo fair. GIX Bucks investment happens simultaneously. Final Deliverable and Final Presentation are due Week 10.

Expectations

Key Policies

AI Tools

AI tools are encouraged. All AI sources must be cited. Purely AI-generated work without understanding receives zero points. You are responsible for verifying accuracy.

Attendance

All classes are in-person. Students must attend on time. Notify the instructor and Program Director in advance for any absence.

Academic Integrity

UW Community Standards and Student Conduct apply. Cheating, plagiarism, and improper citations are prohibited and will be reported.

Accommodations

DRS accommodations welcome—share your letter early. Religious accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks.

10-Week Journey

Weekly Topics

Week 1
Prompts Are the New Code
28 slides
Week 2
Anatomy of Coding Agents
47 slides
Week 3
From Sensor to Dashboard
40 slides
Week 4
Working with Data
28 slides
Week 5
APIs, Databases & the Full-Stack Transition
33 slides
Week 6
Full-Stack Applications
35 slides
Week 7
From Single Calls to Agentic AI
34 slides
Week 8
Deployment, Testing & Security
33 slides
Week 9
Agent Orchestration, Code Review & Project Polish
36 slides