Building a Marketplace for NTU: How CCDS MSAI Student Lee Yu Taek Created InUniSell

When NTU students move in or out of campus halls, a familiar struggle emerges: how to find affordable essentials quickly, or how to pass on items without hassle. For Lee Yu Taek, a CCDS Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI) student, that challenge became an opportunity. He built InUniSell, a dedicated second-hand marketplace designed by and for NTU students. Unlike scattered Telegram or WeChat groups, InUniSell provides a simple, searchable platform where students can buy, sell, and give away items, from study lamps to hangers, without endless scrolling or guesswork. 

“When I arrived at NTU, I had to buy everything from scratch on a limited budget, so I looked for second-hand options. Carousell was the only platform I knew, but it had significant limitations… I then discovered a Telegram group for NTU student exchanges, but it had its own set of problems.” 

From South Korea to Singapore, and Hardware to AI 

Yu Taek’s journey began in South Korea, where he studied Electrical Engineering. After realising physical products were resource-heavy to build, he turned to software development, working as a web developer for over four years. The rise of large language models reignited his curiosity, leading him to pursue the MSAI programme at CCDS. 

“I want to understand AI deeply and work with people who share similar goals — using AI to help people and enable more creative work.” 

From Idea to Platform 

Frustrated by inefficient second-hand options, Yu Taek first experimented with a Telegram bot to organise listings. But when that failed to take off, he doubled down on building a full website. With clear categories, filters, and availability tracking, InUniSell prioritises speed and simplicity for students who don’t have time to waste. 

Classmates validated the idea early on, tested features, and became his first users. Their feedback continues to shape improvements, from UI tweaks to bug fixes. 

The Role of CCDS 

Though only in his first semester when he started, Yu Taek credits CCDS for sparking his entrepreneurial mindset. 

“The CCDS community made all the difference. My peers not only understood the technical challenges but also shared the same frustrations. Their feedback and support gave me the confidence to build and grow InUniSell.” 

His coursework also feeds directly into the platform’s roadmap. Recommendation systems, computer vision, and natural language processing inspire future features, from AI-powered categorisation to personalised alerts and price suggestions. 

Beyond a Marketplace 

For Yu Taek, InUniSell is more than just a resale site. He envisions it becoming a campus hub, a circular economy for affordable goods, a central space for events and resources, and even a forum for students to share ideas. 

“It’s about making campus life more convenient, connected, and sustainable.” 

He is currently developing a Telegram bot that simplifies posting by allowing users to forward messages from group chats to InUniSell. He is still working through technical challenges with handling multiple images. 

An Invitation to Collaborate 

Yu Taek is open to fellow students joining him to refine and expand the platform. He is currently seeking designers, developers, and marketers to bring fresh ideas and skills. 

“You don’t need to wait until you know everything — just start building. The best solutions come from frustrations you experience yourself. And the CCDS community is here to help you succeed.” 

Looking Ahead 

With InUniSell, Yu Taek is turning classroom lessons into a live product that benefits his peers daily. While his short-term focus is on growing the NTU user base, he sees long-term potential for the model to scale to other universities. 

In many ways, his journey reflects what CCDS hopes to instil: the courage to experiment, the skills to build, and the vision to make technology serve people directly. 

Explore InUniSell here: www.inunisell.com