Exchange Program Finder

Find your exchange and course matches instantly.Helping Concordia engineering and CS students discover partner universities and see which courses transfer back home.

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Exchange Program Finder

Inspiration

As a Concordia engineering student, planning an exchange felt overwhelming. Information about partner universities was scattered across multiple websites, and figuring out which courses would transfer back required tedious cross-referencing. The goal was to simplify this experience, not just personally, but for every engineering and computer science student planning to study abroad.

What It Does

Exchange Program Finder is a centralized platform for Concordia engineering and computer science students that allows users to:

  • Browse partner universities
  • Search course equivalencies using cascading filters
    Select country → university → major code to view transferable courses
  • Toggle between dark and light mode for comfortable browsing
  • Access the platform on mobile through a fully responsive design

How We Built It

Frontend

  • React 19 with TypeScript
  • Vite for fast development and builds
  • React Router for client-side navigation
  • Axios for API communication
  • CSS variables for theming and dark/light mode support

Backend

  • Spring Boot 3.5.6 with Java 21
  • Spring Data MongoDB
  • Custom repository implementations using MongoTemplate for:
    • Distinct queries
    • Cascading filters
    • Efficient data retrieval

Database

  • MongoDB Atlas
  • Stores course equivalency documents mapping:
    • Concordia courses
    • Partner university equivalents
    • Country, university, and major metadata

Infrastructure

  • Backend hosted on Vultr at api.conuexchange.tech
  • Frontend deployed at conuexchange.tech
  • Domain managed using a .tech domain

Accomplishments

  • Built and deployed a complete full-stack application during a single hackathon weekend.
  • Designed an intuitive cascading filter system that dynamically loads options based on previous selections.
  • Implemented a polished dark and light mode with smooth transitions and system preference detection.
  • Successfully integrated three sponsor technologies:
    • Vultr
    • MongoDB Atlas
    • .tech domain

What’s Next for Exchange Program Finder

  • Expand coverage to all Concordia faculties, not just engineering and computer science.
  • Add user accounts so students can save favorite universities and track exchange planning progress.
  • Introduce course reviews so students can share their experiences abroad.
  • AI-powered recommendations based on a student’s course history and interests.

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