AcademiaConnect

AcademiaConnect is a private social app for university students—offering secure messaging, semester-based auto routine generation, academic networking, and a safe digital campus.

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💡 Inspiration

At universities, students often struggle with scattered communication and inconsistent academic coordination. Group chats are noisy, routine PDFs get lost, and there’s no single space where academic and social life come together privately and securely.

AcademiaConnect was born from this need—a mobile-first platform tailored for university students and faculty, ensuring private interactions, automatic schedule generation based on semester/section, and a secure, community-focused environment.

⚙️ What It Does

  • 🔒 Private Platform: Only accessible to verified university students via institutional email.
  • 🧾 Auto Routine Generation: Instantly builds a personalized class routine based on a student's semester and section.
  • 🗨️ Private Messaging: All conversations stay strictly between students—no public group chats or leaks.
  • 📰 Social Feed: Students can share posts and announcements without risking reputation exposure outside their university.
  • 👥 Friend Requests & Profiles: Build your academic circle with verified students and faculty profiles.
  • 🔔 Notifications: Get real-time updates on class announcements, post interactions, and more.

🛠️ Built With

  • Frontend:

    • React Native (Expo)
    • TypeScript
    • Expo Router
    • Formik & Yup (Forms & Validation)
    • React Native Reanimated & Gesture Handler
    • Lucide Icons
    • @expo-google-fonts/inter

  • Backend:

    • Supabase (PostgreSQL DB, Auth, Storage, Realtime, Edge Functions)

  • Dev Tools:

    • GitHub
    • VS Code
    • Expo Go

🧠 What We Learned

  • How to implement and secure Row Level Security (RLS) policies in Supabase
  • Managing real-time updates across posts, chats, and notifications efficiently
  • Structuring a mobile-first social network that doesn’t compromise privacy
  • Advanced usage of Expo Router and React Native design principles

🚧 Challenges Faced

  • Handling real-time syncing of feed, messages, and notifications
  • Creating a role-based secure login system using Supabase policies
  • Ensuring scalable UI performance across Android, iOS, and Web
  • Designing a flexible academic schedule system that supports auto-generation logic
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