Inspiration
Our inspiration for LinkUp Monash arose from observing the difficulties university students face in forming meaningful connections on campus. As Monash students, we recognized the challenges of making friends outside structured classes, especially for international and off-campus students. Existing social platforms do not cater to the unique needs of university communities, motivating us to create a solution to foster connections based on shared interests, academic pursuits, and campus activities.
What it Does
LinkUp Monash is a social platform for Monash University students to:
- Create personalized profiles showcasing academic interests and hobbies.
- Discover compatible peers via a matching system.
- Organize and join campus activities, study groups, and events.
- Maintain a Monash-specific friends network.
- Receive event notifications and schedule meetups.
- Ensure a safe environment through Monash email verification.
How We Built It
We used a modern web development stack:
- Next.js for the frontend, enabling server-side rendering and reusable components.
- MongoDB to store user profiles, activities, and connections.
- Authentication verifying Monash email addresses.
- A user-matching algorithm considering interests and preferences.
- Responsive design for mobile and desktop.
Challenges
Key challenges included:
- Designing a privacy-focused system.
- Creating an intuitive interface for diverse users.
- Simplifying the Monash student verification process.
- Balancing feature richness with simplicity.
- Ensuring accessibility for all students.
- Managing real-time notifications without compromising performance.
Accomplishments
Notable achievements:
- A functional, user-friendly platform addressing real university needs.
- Secure Monash email authentication and compatibility-based recommendations.
- An accessible and responsive design praised by student testers.
What We Learned
- Insights into university social dynamics.
- Skills in full-stack development (Next.js, React, MongoDB).
- Designing matching algorithms and user-centered testing.
- Collaboration and feature prioritization under time constraints.
What's Next
Future plans include:
- AI-driven recommendations and faculty-specific features.
- Group chat, mobile app development, and mentorship programs.
- Integration with academic calendars and partnerships with clubs.
- Expansion to all Monash campuses and analytics for student engagement.
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