SOLVE (Real Problems, Real Solutions)

SOLVE connects everyday tech problems overlooked by big companies with aspiring new developers, turning real-world challenges into hands-on experience; it's where real problems meet real solutions.

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Inspiration For SOLVE

As CS students, we constantly seek unique projects but often end up building the same e-commerce sites, personal websites, or to-do lists. Many students have great ideas but struggle to find like-minded peers to collaborate with.
Meanwhile, regular people face small but frustrating tech problems—too minor for big companies to address but significant in daily life. SOLVE bridges this gap by connecting real-world problems with developers eager for hands-on experience. It helps users find solutions while enabling developers to build meaningful projects, collaborate, and gain recognition for their contributions.

What SOLVE Does:

SOLVE does exactly what its name says—it solves problems. It connects developers with real-world challenges, giving them a chance to work on unique, practical projects instead of the typical “Top 10 Projects for Beginner Developers.” It also builds communities where developers collaborate to tackle real issues, and even experts can get help in areas outside their expertise—like a cybersecurity pro struggling with AI.
Every completed project earns developers recognition, a spot on the leaderboard, and a solid portfolio piece. Plus, it’s a great way to gain hands-on experience and showcase real problem-solving skills on a CV!

How We Built SOLVE:

We built SOLVE as a web app to make it accessible to as many people as possible, whether they’re developers looking for unique projects or users needing solutions.

For the frontend, we used Next.js, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create a smooth and responsive user experience. The backend runs on Flask, handling data and requests through an API, with SQLite as the database for storing project details, user accounts, and interactions.

Key Features:

  1. Browse Projects & Rankings – Visitors can explore projects and see the top-ranking developers right on the homepage.
  2. Project Details – View in-depth information about individual projects, including contributors and discussions.
  3. User Accounts – Register, log in, and manage your profile (CRUD operations).
  4. Project Management – Create, update, and delete projects easily.
  5. Community Engagement – Comment on posts, contribute to projects, and collaborate with others.
  6. Developer Recognition – Earn credit for completed projects, which boosts your ranking on the homepage.
  7. Upvote System – Logged-in users can support projects by upvoting them, and the most upvoted projects appear at the top.

Challenges we ran into

Our team came together pretty last minute, so there were some initial coordination hiccups. Figuring out the project idea, features, and how we wanted to build it took a bit of time. We decided to go with Next.js for the frontend and Flask for the backend, but the real challenge came when we tried to link the two. None of us had worked with both together before, so it took some trial and error to get it all working right.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're really proud of how we worked together as a team, especially since it was our first time collaborating. It wasn’t always smooth sailing, but we communicated well, divided the work, and stayed focused. Once we got into the groove, things started flowing, and seeing the project go from just an idea to a fully working platform felt amazing. Completing it as a team was definitely a big win for us!

What we learned

Working on Solve taught us the importance of keeping things simple and focusing on the key features first. It showed us how crucial it is to communicate well and delegate tasks based on each person’s strengths. We also realized that adapting as we went along and managing time well were key to getting things done efficiently and on schedule.

What's next for SOLVE

For SOLVE, we've got some exciting ideas in the pipeline! Imagine an AI chatbot that you can chat with—once the conversation wraps up, it automatically generates a project title, a detailed description, and even suggests potential technical requirements. Right now, you'd have to do all that manually, so this feature would be a huge time-saver. Plus, we're working on a matchmaking function that connects developers with projects that truly catch their eye and match their skill set. It means you'll be paired with projects that really spark your interest and fit your expertise, making collaboration even more fun and effective.

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