AcademiaConnect

AcademiaConnect is a university social media platform designed specifically for East Delta University (EDU). This platform facilitates communication and collaboration among EDU students while providing university-specific features such as semester-based routine management and notifications.

🎯 Features

General Features:

• Sign Up and Login: Users can sign up using their EDU email ending with @eastdelta.edu.bd. Admin approval is required for account activation.
• Posting: Users can post updates, images, or messages visible to other approved users.
• Friend Requests: Users can send friend requests to connect with others on the platform.

Specialized Features:

• Routine Page: Displays class routines based on the user’s semester and section.
• Notifications: A dedicated page for receiving updates and notifications related to university events and activities.

🛠️ Technology Stack

Frontend:

• React: For building dynamic and interactive user interfaces.
• TypeScript: Ensures type safety and reduces runtime errors.
• Vite: Used as the frontend build tool for faster development.

Backend:

• Express.js: A Node.js web application framework for handling server-side logic.
• MongoDB: A NoSQL database for efficient data storage and retrieval.

📂 Project Structure

The project is organized into the following main directories:

AcademiaConnect/
├── server/                 # Backend server
│   ├── config/            # Configuration files
│   ├── controllers/       # Route controllers
│   ├── middleware/        # Custom middleware
│   ├── models/           # Database models
│   ├── routes/           # API routes
│   └── server.js         # Server entry point
├── src/                   # Frontend client
│   ├── components/       # Reusable React components
│   ├── pages/           # Page components
│   ├── store/           # State management
│   ├── styles/          # CSS/SCSS files
│   └── App.tsx          # Root component
└── README.md

Server:

• Config: Configuration files for environment variables and database connections.
• Controllers: Contains logic for handling requests and responses.
• Middleware: Custom middleware for tasks like authentication and validation.
• Models: Database schemas for MongoDB collections.
• Routes: API endpoints for interacting with the frontend.

Src:

• Components: Reusable React components.
• Lib: Utility functions and libraries.
• Pages: Main application pages (e.g., Home, Notifications, Routine).
• Store: State management files.
• Styles: CSS and styling configurations.
• Types: TypeScript type definitions.

🔒 Security

• Email verification required for signup
• Admin approval system for new accounts
• JWT-based authentication
• Protected API endpoints

📥 Installation and Setup

Follow the steps below to set up the project locally:

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (LTS version recommended)
• MongoDB (installed locally or use a cloud service like MongoDB Atlas)
• Git

Clone the Repository:

• HTTPS: https://github.com/aroyy007/AcademiaConnect.git
• SSH: [email protected]:aroyy007/AcademiaConnect.git
• GitHub CLI: gh repo clone aroyy007/AcademiaConnect

Install Dependencies:

Navigate to the project directory and install dependencies for both the frontend and backend:

# Navigate to server directory
cd server

# Install backend dependencies
npm install

# Navigate to src directory
cd ../src

# Install frontend dependencies
npm install

Set Up Environment Variables:

Create a .env file in the server directory and include the following variables:

MONGO_URI=<your-mongodb-uri>
PORT=<backend-server-port>
JWT_SECRET=<your-jwt-secret>

Run the Application:

Start both the backend and frontend servers:

# Start backend
cd server
nodemon server.js

# Start frontend
npm run dev

Access the Application:

• Frontend: Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000 (or the port configured by Vite).
• Backend: Ensure the backend is running on the specified port in your .env file.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Follow the standard Git workflow:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name.
3. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add your message here'.
4. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/your-feature-name.
5. Open a pull request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

🌟 Show your support

Give a ⭐️ if this project helped you!

---

Thank you for using AcademiaConnect! Let’s make university life more connected and collaborative.