How a fortune-telling panda helps students take the first step

What if a panda could help students get started? And what if building something like that was not as impossible as it seems? Andy began as our small staff summer side project at the Student Project House (SPH). The playful idea quickly turned into a real experiment in how storytelling and AI can spark creativity.

At SPH, we’ve noticed something curious: ETH students are surrounded by opportunities, yet many feel unsure about which curiosity or idea to follow or which passion to pursue. It’s not a lack of resources, there’s funding, fabrication tools, mentors, and lab space, but rather the challenge of deciding where to begin. Students scroll through our website, think “this looks interesting,” and then sensibly return to their coursework. In theory, possibility is everywhere. In practice, the first step can still feel risky.

A Chatbot with a Mascot

Meet Andy Pawsibility, a 3D panda with purple goggles who delivers letters from your future self. Instead of building another platform with tabs and forms, we built a conversation. No login. No approval process. Just a chatbox with a curious panda. Andy listens, reflects your idea back as a short letter, and offers three concrete next steps. It is a small act of storytelling disguised as guidance.

From Santa to Panda

This year's semester start campaign was built on a simple insight: people like to make things, not just read about them. In earlier promotions, we created A6 flyers that folded into little Santas and Easter bunnies. We left them in ETH canteens, and after lunch, the tables were covered in origami. Students did not just read the flyers. They built them. So with Andy, we brought the idea back, this time with a panda. During the Ersti-Tag campus tours, approximately 2,900 new bachelor’s and master’s students, visiting SPH received a flyer they could fold into Andy. The QR code led to a page where they could sign up for Open Days and, of course, talk to the panda. It turned a flat piece of paper into a tiny act of creation. Before students ever stepped into SPH, they had already made something.

Why a Panda?

Because pandas are disarming. Talking to one feels far less daunting than facing an “innovation proposal form.” It gives you permission to think out loud. And yes, a panda that delivers letters from your future self is wonderfully absurd. We know it. The students know it. And yet it works. People respond more warmly to stories than to systems. When Andy replies with encouragement and next steps, it feels human, even though everyone knows it is AI. Andy’s messages arrive as a digital envelope you open. Inside is your idea reflected back to you, a letter that captures your thoughts and nudges you towards action.

What Andy Actually Does

Behind the friendly fur, Andy performs a serious function: routing ideas to the right place. SPH has many doors. Project Support for coaching and funding, the Makerspace for prototyping, the Life Science Lab for experiments, plus workshops and events. Andy listens and then nudges you towards the best one. Building something physical? Try the Makerspace. Testing biology? Visit the Life Science Lab. Unsure where to begin? Project Support is your next stop. It is personalised guidance without needing to map our entire ecosystem first.

The Secret Behind Andy

Here’s the twist: creating a bot like Andy is surprisingly accessible. With vibe coding tools, you can build the website and database, craft your own prompt and design a character using AI.

Of course, we received some help. A design agency provided visual inspiration and our interactive media design apprentice gave Andy a unique SPH look. Our IT intern at SPH also built the backend and image generation system.

The key takeaway is simple: with curiosity, a bit of coding and imagination, you can bring playful ideas to life too. Andy isn’t just a mascot; the panda is proof that abstract ideas can become tangible. Your ideas can be built tested and shared.

Early Results

In just a few weeks, over 200 students had shared ideas with Andy. Most excitingly, many of these students might never have walked into SPH otherwise. The two Open Days in 2025 had an average of 47 percent women, the highest number since we began tracking and well above the ETH-wide share of around 35 percent. In total, 540 students participated at the Hönggerberg Open Day and 837 at the Zentrum Open Day. Sometimes progress begins with something small, a passion project.

Andy is live at panda.sph-prod.ethz.ch