To support pet care, PetFile was created, an application developed by students from the faculties of Engineering and Veterinary Sciences, which seeks to digitize the information of our four-legged companions.
By: Rogel Fierro Nickel, Gearbox Journalist, Faculty of Engineering, rogfierro@udec.cl
Images: Gearbox Archive
Caring for a pet can be a wonderful experience, but it can also be a challenge: vaccinations, check-ups, medications, and emergencies that often get lost in paperwork or in cell phone reminders. From that need, PetFile appears, an application developed by Esteban Constanzo, a student of Industrial Civil Engineering, Joaquín San Martín, a student of Computer Civil Engineering, and Millaray Villablanca, a student of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Concepción, which seeks to digitize animal information and improve pet care.
“Joaquín and I had known each other since our second year, thanks to a computer science friend who brought us together. And with Millaray, we met each other thanks to her boyfriend, who is my industrial engineering classmate. When we started with Gearbox, we started with Joaquín. When we decided on the veterinary theme, we called Millaray,” says Esteban about how they started with the idea of developing PetFile.
More than an app, a tool with purpose
The main objective of PetFile is to improve the animal care experience, with a special focus on owners and based on three fundamental pillars: “education, technology, and welfare”. The application aims to be a reliable space for all information about the pet. It also allows generating networks between professionals in the area and their patients, “to empower the owners for a better animal care, giving them tools through artificial intelligence to improve their lives, while giving them educational tools. They can also have the clinical file and all the information in a single application,” says Esteban.
“We wanted to break down a barrier of veterinary exclusivity, in the sense that I don’t necessarily have to go to a clinic, because I have the medical history there. Instead, with PetFile, I can go to any veterinarian and they can access the pet’s data,” adds San Martín.
An idea that crosses disciplines
A big part of PetFile’s magic lies in its collaborative origins. The three students decided to combine the best of their areas: the vision of management and entrepreneurship from Industrial Engineering, software development from Computer Engineering, and a clinical and empathetic perspective from Veterinary Medicine.
This combination allowed the project to move forward. “The best thing has been that, being from different areas, even though I am an engineer like Esteban, and Millaray comes from the veterinary field, we have all contributed to our area, and that is what stands out the most. This multidisciplinary collaboration has facilitated the work, made everything more enjoyable, and improved the experience. And there is also a group growth, because each one’s skills and knowledge have fostered the teamwork,” says Joaquín.
The project was developed during the 7th Gear Challenge program, promoted by Gearbox, the pre-accelerator of UdeC’s Faculty of Engineering, where students transformed their idea into an impactful application. Thanks to the talks and workshops, they learned about validation, business models, and how to connect with their first users.
According to Millaray, going through Gearbox training “has been a really educational and enriching experience; even if we hadn’t won, there are many learnings that will serve us for the rest of our lives. I have learned a lot thanks to the sessions we had during the Challenge process. I have also learned from the guys, from Esteban when he talks about his area and some technical terms that Joaquín mentions, I did not know at all, but I have tried to adapt, incorporating them into my vocabulary.”
Looking forward
Regarding the steps ahead, the PetFile team continues to develop their application, focusing on the functions that provide value to its potential users. We are in the process of developing the application’s prototype. Our goal is to have a prototype with a closed beta version by January. Currently, we have the entire mockup of how we want the application designed, the user interface, and the user experience,” Joaquín mentions.
PetFile is proof of how great ideas are created in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Concepción; ideas with real, global, and purposeful impact.
Photos 1 and 2: Development team and the PetFile app
Photo 3: lookstudio image on Freepik
Photo 4: Freepik image
Last modified: 20 de mayo de 2026
