AlumConnect - Social Platform for Alumni-Student Connections

AlumConnect is a comprehensive social platform designed to bridge the gap between alumni and students, providing free mentorship, networking opportunities, and a thriving community for knowledge sharing.

🚀 Features

🎯 Core Features

• Social Feed - Share posts, experiences, and insights
• Free Mentorship - Connect students with alumni mentors
• Coding Challenges - Daily programming problems with leaderboards
• Events & Workshops - Community events and learning sessions
• Resource Sharing - Curated learning materials and guides
• Real-time Chat - Internal messaging and community discussions

🤖 AI-Powered Features

• Smart Mentor Matching - AI algorithm matches students with relevant alumni
• Coding Bot - Interactive bot for daily challenges and learning resources
• Intelligent Recommendations - Personalized content and connection suggestions

🏆 Gamification

• Points System - Earn points for solving problems and helping others
• Leaderboards - Compete with peers in coding challenges
• Streaks - Maintain daily coding streaks for rewards
• Badges - Achievement system for various milestones

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 18 with TypeScript
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• Framer Motion for animations
• Lucide React for icons
• React Router for navigation

Backend & Database

• Supabase for backend services
• PostgreSQL database with Row Level Security
• Real-time subscriptions for live updates
• Authentication with email/password

Development Tools

• Vite for fast development
• ESLint for code quality
• TypeScript for type safety

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm or yarn
• Supabase account (for production)
• LinkedIn Developer Account (for LinkedIn OAuth)

Local Development

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/alumconnect.git
   cd alumconnect

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables

   cp .env.example .env

   Fill in your Supabase credentials in .env:

   VITE_SUPABASE_URL=your_supabase_project_url
   VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=your_supabase_anon_key

4. Set up LinkedIn OAuth (Optional) To enable LinkedIn sign-in:

   a) Create LinkedIn App:

   • Go to LinkedIn Developer Portal
   • Click "Create App" and fill in the required information:
     • App name: "AlumConnect"
     • LinkedIn Page: Create a LinkedIn page for your app or use personal
     • App logo: Upload your app logo
     • Legal agreement: Accept terms

   b) Configure LinkedIn App:

   • In your LinkedIn app dashboard, go to "Auth" tab
   • Add these redirect URLs:
     • For local development: http://127.0.0.1:54321/auth/v1/callback
     • For production: https://your-project.supabase.co/auth/v1/callback
   • Request access to these scopes:
     • r_liteprofile (to retrieve basic profile info)
     • r_emailaddress (to retrieve email address)

   c) Configure Supabase:

   • In your Supabase dashboard: Authentication > Providers > LinkedIn
   • Enable LinkedIn provider
   • Add your LinkedIn Client ID and Client Secret
   • Save the configuration

   d) Update Local Config:

   • In supabase/config.toml, update the LinkedIn section:

     [auth.external.linkedin]
     enabled = true
     client_id = "your_linkedin_client_id"
     secret = "your_linkedin_client_secret"
     redirect_uri = "http://127.0.0.1:54321/auth/v1/callback"

5. Set up Supabase (Optional - for local development)

   # Install Supabase CLI
   npm install -g supabase
   
   # Start local Supabase
   supabase start
   
   # Run migrations
   supabase db reset

6. Start the development server

   npm run dev

7. Open your browser Navigate to http://localhost:5173

Production Deployment

Deploy to Netlify

1. Build the project: npm run build
2. Deploy the dist folder to Netlify
3. Set environment variables in Netlify dashboard

Deploy to Vercel

1. Connect your GitHub repository to Vercel
2. Set environment variables in Vercel dashboard
3. Deploy automatically on push

📊 Database Schema

The application uses a comprehensive PostgreSQL schema with the following main tables:

• profiles - User profile information
• posts - Social media posts and content
• post_reactions - Likes, loves, and other reactions
• comments - Post comments and discussions
• connections - User network connections
• mentorship_sessions - Mentoring session records
• coding_problems - Daily coding challenges
• user_problem_submissions - User coding submissions
• leaderboard - Coding challenge rankings
• events - Community events and workshops
• resources - Learning materials and guides
• notifications - User notifications

🔐 Security

• Row Level Security (RLS) enabled on all tables
• Authentication via Supabase Auth
• Data validation on both client and server
• Secure API endpoints with proper authorization

🎨 Design System

• Modern UI/UX with clean, intuitive design
• Responsive design for all device sizes
• Consistent color scheme with indigo/purple gradients
• Smooth animations and micro-interactions
• Accessibility features and ARIA labels

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
4. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

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

👥 Team

Created by Stuti Gupta

• 3rd year B.Tech. CSE student @ RCEW, Jaipur
• GitHub: @stuticoder123
• LinkedIn: stuticoder1
• Email: stuticoder123@gmail.com

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Thanks to all the open-source libraries and tools used
• Inspired by the need for better alumni-student connections
• Built with ❤️ for the global student community

📞 Support

For support, email stuticoder123@gmail.com or create an issue in the GitHub repository.

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AlumConnect - Empowering Connections. Enabling Futures. 🚀