UniLend

UniLend - a platform to connect students who need to borrow items with those who have items to lend.

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UniLend: Peer-to-Peer Lending Platform for University Students

Inspiration

As university students, we often found ourselves in situations where we needed specific items for short periods - be it a graphing calculator for a math course, a DSLR camera for a photography class, or even formal wear for a networking event. Buying these items outright was often expensive and impractical. We realized that many of our peers faced similar challenges, and at the same time, had items they rarely used sitting idle in their dorms. This sparked the idea for UniLend - a platform to connect students who need to borrow items with those who have items to lend.

What it does

UniLend is a peer-to-peer lending platform specifically designed for university students. It allows students to:

  1. List items they're willing to lend out
  2. Browse available items to borrow
  3. Lend their items to fellow students

How we built it

We built UniLend using a modern tech stack:

  • Frontend: React.js with Next.js for server-side rendering
  • Backend: Node.js with Express
  • Database: PostgreSQL with Railway
  • Authentication: JWT for secure user sessions from scratch
  • UI Components: Tailwind CSS for responsive design ## Challenges we ran into

  1. Building RESTful APIs from Scratch: We designed and implemented RESTful APIs to handle all aspects of our platform, from item listings to user interactions.

  2. Authentication from Scratch: Implementing an authentication system without relying on third-party libraries was our biggest challenge. This involved secure user registration and login, JWT implementation, and proper encryption of sensitive data.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  1. Implementing Authentication from scratch
  2. RESTful API's from scratch

What we learned

  • How sessions are implemented
  • Security mechanisms to store sensitive data

What's next for UniLend

We have big plans for the future of UniLend:

  1. Mobile App: Develop iOS and Android apps for even easier access to the platform.
  2. Expand to More Universities: Partner with student organizations at other universities to expand our reach.
  3. Integration with University Systems: Partner with universities to integrate UniLend with student ID systems for enhanced security and convenience.

UniLend aims to revolutionize how university students access the resources they need, promoting a sharing economy within campuses and making education more accessible and affordable for all.

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