How a 16-year-old built a free AI learning platform from his bedroom in Dubai

Dubai: For most teenagers, after-school hours are spent between homework, sports, and social media. But for 16-year-old Karl Hechema, those evenings became the foundation of an education platform now helping thousands of students around the world.

The Dubai-based Egyptian student at Lycee Francais International AFLEC in Oud Metha has created “PrepaDNB,” a free artificial intelligence (AI)-powered study platform designed to help students prepare for the French Brevet examination, the national diploma taken at the end of middle school.

“The growth has been organic. One user, then ten, then a hundred. We’re now past 5,000 users across more than 40 countries. It wasn’t just personal pride. It felt like a moment for the whole community,” Hechema told Gulf News.

The idea has come from his own experience preparing for the Brevet exam last year.

“I sat the Brevet myself last year and passed with highest honors. Throughout that year, my classmates kept coming to me saying they didn’t know how to revise. They couldn’t find good resources. The ones flooding their feeds weren’t built for the French curriculum,” recalled Hechema.

As more students approached him for help, Hechema has found himself hosting Zoom revision sessions nearly every afternoon.

“By the end of the year, the question had shifted from how do I help my friends to how do I scale this. How can the same support reach students without me needing to be in the room. That’s where PrépaDNB came from, launched in October 2025.”

That became the starting point for the platform, built by a student for fellow students. The site has brought together revision sheets, worked exam papers, quizzes, flashcards, and podcasts in one place. More recently, Hechema has integrated an AI tool that generates personalised quizzes tailored to each student’s learning needs.

“The formats are deliberate. They’re the ones I used myself when I sat for the exam. I just brought it all together in one accessible and free place because the point is to help people, not to monetise them.”

Although Hechema had always enjoyed building websites for friends and family, coding a full-scale platform has once felt out of reach. That changed with the rise of AI-assisted coding tools.

“The idea of using AI tools to translate clear requirements and objectives into working code opened the door. I researched the workflow, taught myself how to use it, and started shipping the pages of the web platform one by one,” explained Hechema. 

The teenager has later expanded the project into mobile applications for both iOS and Android devices using the same approach. But building the platform was only half the challenge.

“The real learning curve came after the launch when users actually started using the platform. Troubleshooting, fixing technical errors in production, or figuring out why something broke for one device and not on another. It teaches you that a platform isn't static. It's a living thing that needs constant updates.”

Having lived in the UAE his entire life, Hechema believes the country’s culture of ambition and innovation heavily influenced his journey.

“Growing up in the UAE shaped how I think about almost everything. It’s the lived experience of growing up here, a country that genuinely values its youth, that cares about learning, and that, when it does something, does it at the biggest and best scale. In the UAE, you dream big, and the country meets you halfway,” shared Hechema.

In addition, he has credited the UAE’s strong focus on technology and AI for creating a mindset where innovation feels natural.

“You start to think bigger by default. For me, the UAE created the conditions to build something, to grow, to dream, and to contribute not only here, but to the world.”

Hechema has also highlighted that the country stands out for how seriously it invests in its youth.

“Young people in the UAE are given something precious, a foundation. From a young age here, ideas are encouraged, ambition is encouraged, and you’re handed the tools to actually build what you imagine. That combination isn’t common.”

Despite managing a growing platform with international users, Hechema has insisted that academics remain a top priority.

“School and entrepreneurship aren’t competing priorities. Time management becomes everything, and academics, sports, extracurriculars, and your own project all have to coexist. They all matter,” exclaimed Hechema.

Looking ahead, his ambition is to reach more schools and empower more students. For him, the development is proof of what young people can achieve when given the right environment.

“The UAE gave me the conditions to start something in my bedroom that now reaches students across the world. That isn’t an accident of where I happened to grow up. It’s because of where I grew up.”