Common Grounds

Your study circle starts here!

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The Inspiration💡 It all started when we were desperately searching for hackathon teammates at 11 PM, sending frantic messages across class Discord channels. We were three Computer Science students who had been through the same struggle too many times: finding people who share our interests, match our schedule, and complement our skills. The breaking point came during HackUMass, where we spent more time trying to form a team than actually planning our project. That's when it hit us – if we were facing this challenge, other students must be too. Not just for hackathons, but for study groups, project collaborations, and even casual academic discussions.

The Problem We're Solving 🎯 The Discord Dilemma: Scrolling through endless messages trying to find project partners The Schedule Shuffle: Finding people who are free when you're free The Interest Gap: Connecting with peers who share your specific academic interests The "Anyone Want to Study?": Those lonely library sessions when you wish you had study partners

Our Solution: Common Grounds ☕ We created Common Grounds as a platform where students can find their academic soulmates. The name comes from the idea of finding "common ground" with fellow students, visualized by our overlapping circles logo with a book at the intersection – where minds meet and knowledge grows.

Key Features

  1. Smart Matching Algorithm -> Matches based on academic interests -> Schedule compatibility -> Study style preferences -> Skill level alignment

  2. Flexible Study Groups -> Project team formation -> Study group matching -> Hackathon team building -> Course-specific partnerships

  3. Real-time Availability -> Schedule syncing -> Location-based matching -> Instant chat features -> Meeting space suggestions

What We Learned 📚

  1. Technical Skills -> Advanced React patterns -> Real-time data handling -> Complex algorithm design -> Database optimization

  2. Soft Skills -> User research importance -> Project management -> Team collaboration -> Problem-solving under pressure

Challenges: We faced some challenges during the project, particularly due to a last-minute change in our idea. This limited the time available to fully develop the frontend and implement the desired UI. While we were new to using Figma, it proved to be a valuable tool that enhanced our understanding of frontend design. Despite our efforts, some parts of the website are not yet functional, and a few features had to be excluded due to time constraints. Given more time, we would focus on completing the intended design and expanding group creation to include not only study groups but also hobby and interest-based matching. An image of our Figma designs is included in the project media.

Remember the last time you wished you had someone to study with at 2 AM before finals? Yeah, we do too. That's why we built Common Grounds – because your study circle starts here.

"Great minds think alike, but the best minds study together."

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