AcademicGen

The inspiration behind AcademicGen came from observing a persistent challenge in academic environments: students, researchers, and professionals spending countless hours on document formatting instead of focusing on actual research and content quality. The Problem: Academic institutions worldwide enforce strict formatting standards—proper figure/table placement, citation styles (APA, MLA, IEEE), specific document structures, and complex referencing systems. A single technical report could require 3-4 hours just for formatting, with thesis documents taking even longer. This time investment was unsustainable, especially for students managing multiple assignments or researchers working on tight publication deadlines. The Solution Evolution: AcademicGen emerged as an intelligent automation platform that handles the formatting burden. The development process focused on three core principles: 1. Accuracy First - Ensuring generated documents meet institutional standards across multiple formats (BET technical reports, IEEE conference papers, Harvard thesis documents) 2. AI Integration - Leveraging Google Gemini 2.5 Flash for intelligent content generation while maintaining academic integrity and proper citation management 3. Universal Accessibility - Building a freemium model (3-5 free generations) ensuring students worldwide can benefit regardless of financial constraints Technical Approach: The platform combines React 18 + TypeScript for type-safe architecture, Firebase for authentication and real-time database operations, and Express.js for robust API handling. The export system supports PDF, DOCX, PPTX, and HTML formats, with real-time preview capabilities eliminating the traditional generate-review-revise cycle. Key Features: ✅ Multiple document types (Technical Reports, Thesis, Conference Papers, Presentations) ✅ 5 citation styles with smart import from URLs, DOIs, BibTeX ✅ AI image generation integration (Pollinations.ai + Pixabay API) ✅ Cloud storage via Firebase for cross-device access ✅ Responsive design (320px mobile to ultra-wide monitors) Impact Goals: The platform aims to democratize access to professional document generation tools, reducing the formatting barrier that often prevents quality research from being properly presented. The open-source nature (GitHub: henockhnk092-dot/Academic-Document-Generator) encourages community contributions and continuous improvement. Early feedback from university students and researchers has been positive, with users reporting 70-80% time savings on document preparation. The next development phase focuses on expanding citation style support, adding collaborative editing features, and implementing advanced AI-powered content suggestions. AcademicGen represents a step toward making academic writing more efficient—removing the formatting burden while maintaining the scholarly standards that ensure credibility and readability. Feedback and suggestions from the Product Hunt community are welcome. What formatting challenges do you face in academic or technical writing?