LendLoop

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Inspiration

We were inspired by the gap between USYD’s sustainability goals and the actual practices of student societies. Recognising the waste generated during events, we wanted to create a platform that makes it easy for societies to share and reuse materials, promoting a circular economy within the university.

What it does

LendLoop is a platform that enables USYD societies to exchange, borrow, and lend materials for events, as well as access a universal USU Resource bank providing reusable common items like cutlery and cups. By matching societies with stored or surplus items, it minimises excess spending and waste, fosters collaboration, and promotes a sense of product stewardship in all students across campus.

How we built it

We used Figma to iteratively produce wireframes and prototypes. The app integrates with the USU (University of Sydney Union) members enabling easy account creation through UniKey and streamlined access to resources across societies.

Challenges we ran into

We had to complete ideation, research and design in a time crunch, which was challenging, to say the least! We also encountered issues in making the interface intuitive and ensuring users could easily find, borrow, and return items.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud of creating a solution that promotes sustainability on campus while also simplifying event management for societies. The user feedback has been encouraging, validating the need for such a platform.

What we learned

We learned the importance time management and task delegation under time pressure. Iterations like adding a progress bar and refining the profile page significantly improved user experience.

What's next for LendLoop

Next, we aim to integrate more features for real-time communication between societies and expand the platform to include more types of materials. We also plan to roll out educational content to raise awareness about sustainable practices within the student community.