Executive Brief: Gapwise is a free, independent student utility that
bridges the gap between official course schedules and physical campus navigation. It
connects class times to campus geometry—computing true usable break times, verified walking
paths, step-free navigation, and study destinations across
11 Canadian universities and 13 campus models with strict
privacy-by-design.
Core Student Functionality
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Timetable Integration: Parses exports (.ics, ACORN, Carleton Central,
RAMSS) entirely locally in the browser with zero cloud schedule ingestion.
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True Usable Gap Budgeting: Automatically subtracts walking travel
time, room transitions, and meal periods from breaks to highlight genuine study
windows.
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Pedestrian Navigation & Routing: Turn-by-turn outdoor walking
routes between verified campus building entrances, including step-free accessible
paths.
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Campus Places & Residences: Source-backed dining and study spots
with transparent hours, plus housing wayfinding across 124 residences.
Institutional Coverage
Currently deployed with dedicated subdomains and validated campus models for 11
institutions:
U of T (UTM, UTSG, UTSC)
Carleton University
Toronto Metropolitan (TMU)
York University
McMaster University
Queen's University
Western University
Wilfrid Laurier
University of Guelph
University of Ottawa
Brock University
Privacy & Security Architecture
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Zero-PII Guest Mode: Full timetable and routing capabilities work
instantly without account creation or email address.
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Client-Side Processing: Calendar files are parsed in the browser via
WebAssembly/TypeScript; raw schedules never touch our servers.
-
Application-Layer Encryption: Optional cloud sync encrypts data in
the browser (Web Crypto API) before ciphertext is saved.
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Responsible Disclosure: Published Vulnerability Disclosure Policy and
.well-known/security.txt; audited permission models.
Developer & Ecosystem Tools
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Public Campus API: Versioned REST endpoints
(
/v1/buildings, /v1/routes) for open campus data.
-
Official SDKs: Published TypeScript/JavaScript
(
@gapwise/sdk) and Python (gapwise) client libraries.
-
Model Context Protocol (MCP): Remote AI connector
(
ai.gapwise.ca) for privacy-preserving assistant integrations.
-
Developer CLI: Open-source CLI tool (
@gapwise/cli) for
campus data validation and integration testing.
Realistic Collaboration Opportunities for Universities
A. Student Unions & Societies
Feature Gapwise on student orientation linktrees, commuter guides, and transit hubs to
assist first-years and off-campus students.
B. Innovation Hubs & Accelerators
Mentorship, incubator placement (e.g. ICUBE UTM), and student founder showcases
demonstrating student-built public-interest technology.
C. Academic Planning & Registrar
Technical validation of public/non-personal schedule schema formats to guarantee 100%
timetable export parsing accuracy.