PlanIt Campus

Inspiration

University life is packed with opportunities, career fairs, workshops, cultural events, and social activities. But students often struggle to discover and keep track of them. Information is scattered across emails, posters, and social media, leading to missed opportunities and low engagement.

Organisers may also struggle with participation and engagement rates, discouraging future launches of events. It can dampen their efforts if turnout is low. A reliable, high-traffic, incentivised platform can greatly increase the chances of the events being promoted and receiving attention.

We wanted to centralise event discovery and participation while adding gamification to motivate students to join events. With the gamified rewards system, it can also incentivize organisers hosting events, as it can potentially bring about more students to attend. Organisers can benefit from higher attendance and valuable analytics to plan future events effectively. The result is a win-win for both students and organisers, promoting higher participation and better event experiences across campus.

Description

Students can browse and register for campus events, earning points by registering and attending. These points can later be redeemed for rewards, creating a gamified experience that incentivises event participation and encourages a more vibrant student life.

Event organisers can easily create and publish events, track RSVPs and attendance rates, and access an analytics dashboard to view event performance and attendance trends. This can help organisers better plan future events.

How we built it

Frontend: Built using EJS templates and Bootstrap, enhanced with custom CSS for a clean UI.

Backend: Developed with Node.js and Express.js, structured with modular routes for scalability.

Database: SQL database for storing users, organisers, events, registrations, and reward points.

Gamification: Integrated a points system that updates user rewards upon event registration and attendance.

Analysis: Integrated a system that tracks registration and real-time attendance numbers. Allows for comparison across all campus events.

Challenges we ran into

Handling database conflicts while coding different features simultaneously. Ensuring consistency in route names and shared data across multiple routes. Integrating gamification logic with user-event registration without breaking existing features. Creating a unique UI/UX that is fun to look at and engage with.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Implemented a clean and modular structure using Express routes and EJS templates. Created a foundation for gamification, with a points and leaderboard system, making event participation more engaging. Successfully integrated RSVP tracking, attendance management, and analytics dashboards for organisers. Designed responsive Bootstrap pages that are user-friendly and visually appealing.

What we learned

The importance of consistent database schemas and naming conventions when working as a team. The need for clear communication as it is easy to confuse one another. The importance of clear task delegation, as certain tasks may overlap and cause conflicts.

What's next for PlanIt Campus

Mobile App Version for iOS and Android to increase accessibility. Real-time Notifications for event reminders and updates. Event Discovery Enhancements using filters and recommendations based on user interests.