Unizim: Scalable App For University And College Students

Unizim is a cross-platform scalable app developed with the specific needs of university and college students and faculty members in mind. It aims to address the challenges faced by both students and faculty in managing their academic and social lives, providing them with a comprehensive set of tools and features to streamline their day-to-day activities. With Unizim, students can stay organized, connected, and engaged, while faculty members can effectively manage their sections and provide academic guidance to students.

Feature List

• Event Management

• Brackets (Group Management)

• Real-time Chat

• Counseling Appointments Booking

• Discussion Platform

• User Profile and Search

Description

Unizim is a groundbreaking cross-platform app designed to revolutionize the educational experience for university and college students, as well as faculty members. With its impressive feature set and user-centric design, Unizim empowers students and faculty alike to collaborate, communicate, and excel in their academic pursuits.

By seamlessly integrating features such as event management, real-time chat, counseling appointments booking, discussions, and user profiles, Unizim creates a cohesive ecosystem that fosters a productive and engaging learning environment. Students can stay updated with upcoming tests, assignments, and events tailored to their specific brackets or globally. They can collaborate with fellow students, share study materials, and seek assistance through real-time chat and open discussions.

Faculty members benefit from streamlined bracket management, enabling them to effortlessly organize sections, assign teaching assistants, and communicate with students. The app also provides a convenient platform for faculty-student counseling appointments, facilitating academic guidance and support.

Unizim’s intuitive user interface, powered by Google Material Design 3, ensures a visually appealing and seamless experience across different platforms and devices. Users can personalize their app themes, fonts, and colors to create a unique and personalized learning environment.

Built with Flutter and leveraging the power of Appwrite and Firebase, Unizim boasts a robust and scalable tech stack. Appwrite handles authentication, database management, cloud functions, and storage, while Firebase enhances the app with user notifications, analytics, and account verification.

Although still in the beta phase, Unizim is rapidly progressing toward its public release. The app’s development team is dedicated to refining and improving the user experience based on valuable feedback from beta testers. Additionally, a demo version is available through Firebase App Distribution, allowing users to experience Unizim firsthand and provide feedback to shape its future.

Unizim aims to empower the education community by transforming the way students and faculty collaborate, communicate, and succeed in their academic journeys. Join the Unizim revolution and unlock the full potential of education with this innovative cross-platform app.

1. Event Management

Unizim allows users to view upcoming events such as class tests, assignments, lab reports, festivals, and more. Events can be created for a specific bracket or at the global level. Auto-reminder notifications will be sent to the appropriate user related to the events. Cron notifications will be sent based on notification time. Global notifications will be received by all users in the app.

2. Brackets

Brackets, also known as groups, can be created by faculty to manage students in a specific section. Faculty can assign a teaching assistant to the bracket, who can add all the members in the section to the bracket. Within brackets, members can engage in real-time chat, share materials, and collaborate on projects. The faculty has the ability to override notification options for the members.

3. Real-time Chat

The real-time chat feature allows bracket members to communicate with each other instantly. Students, faculty, and teaching assistants can upload and share study materials, discuss academic topics, and collaborate on projects. Users have the flexibility to customize their notification preferences, ensuring they receive relevant updates without being overwhelmed.

4. Counseling Appointments Booking

Unizim simplifies the process of booking counseling appointments with faculty members. Students can schedule appointments for academic guidance, manage their available slots, and receive notifications for upcoming sessions. This feature ensures that students have easy access to academic support when they need it, and faculty members can efficiently manage their counseling sessions.

5. Discussion

The discussion feature provides a platform for users to initiate and engage in open discussions. These discussions are visible to all users, fostering a collaborative environment for seeking assistance and sharing knowledge. Real-time replies enable interactive discussions, and discussions are ranked based on user interaction, ensuring valuable content is easily discoverable by all users.

6. User Profile and Search

Every user on Unizim has a profile that showcases their information and allows them to manage their discussion visibility. Faculty members have an additional appointment booking section in their profiles, making it easy for students to schedule counseling sessions. The user search feature enables users to find and connect with other users by their name, email, ID, and more.

Customize Your Experience

Unizim is designed with you in mind. Personalize your app theme, font, and color to create a unique user experience that reflects your style. With Google Material Design 3, Unizim offers a visually pleasing and intuitive interface that enhances the overall usability and aesthetics of the app. Users will experience a familiar and seamless design language, allowing them to navigate and interact with the app effortlessly.

Tech Stack

The Unizim app utilizes the following technologies:

• Flutter: Flutter, a cross-platform UI framework developed by Google, is used to build the Unizim app.

• Appwrite Cloud: Unizim relies on Appwrite as its backend service.

  • Authentication

  • Databases

    • Realtime

  • Storage

  • Cloud Functions - Dart, Node.js

  • Avatars

• Firebase: Firebase provides a reliable infrastructure for real-time notifications and offers valuable insights into user behavior and app performance.

  • Notification

  • Analytics

  • Account Verification

Challenges Faced

Developing an app as comprehensive as Unizim came with its own set of challenges. One primary challenge was balancing the needs of both students and faculty members to ensure a seamless user experience for both user groups. Careful design and implementation were required to meet the specific requirements of each group and create a cohesive app.

Another challenge was providing a scalable and controlled backend infrastructure that could handle a growing user base and increasing data. Appwrite proved to be the ideal solution, offering scalability, control, and flexibility while allowing for seamless integration with Unizim’s existing architecture.

The transition from Firebase to Appwrite presented its challenges, including data migration and ensuring a smooth integration. However, with thorough planning and the support of the development team, the transition was successful, and Appwrite proved to be an excellent choice for Unizim’s backend requirements.

Email Verification Process

At Unizim, we understand the importance of email verification in ensuring the security and authenticity of user accounts. While Appwrite provides a convenient Google API for email verification, we encountered some challenges during the implementation. However, we were able to overcome these hurdles by leveraging the capabilities of both Appwrite and Firebase.

Here’s how we accomplished the email verification process using a combination of Appwrite cloud functions and Firebase:

1. Creating the Firebase Account: When a new user signs up on Unizim, one of the Appwrite cloud functions is triggered. This function creates a corresponding user account in Firebase using the email provided during the registration process.

2. Sending the Verification Email: After the Firebase account is created, another Appwrite cloud function is executed. This function utilizes the Firebase SDK to send a verification email to the user’s registered email address. The email contains instructions on how to verify their account.

3. Periodic Email Status Check: To ensure timely verification, a third Appwrite cloud function is scheduled to run every 10 seconds. This function uses the Firebase Admin SDK to check the email verification status of the user.

4. Firebase Account Verification: When the user receives the verification email, they can click on the verification link, which directs them to a Firebase-hosted verification page. This page confirms their account verification status.

5. Email Status Update: Once the user verifies their email successfully, the periodic Appwrite cloud function detects the verified status through the Firebase Admin SDK. The function then updates the email verification status within the Unizim app, indicating that the user’s email has been successfully verified.

The decision to combine Appwrite with Firebase for email verification was driven by several factors. Firstly, as we were self-hosting the Appwrite instance, we didn’t have access to a Google email sender server. Hence, we utilized the Firebase Admin SDK, which offers reliable email-sending capabilities. Additionally, the seamless integration between Appwrite and Firebase allowed us to leverage the strengths of both platforms to ensure a smooth email verification process.

By adopting this approach, we were able to successfully verify user emails and provide a secure environment for Unizim users. We appreciate the flexibility and compatibility of Appwrite and Firebase, which enabled us to overcome challenges and deliver a seamless user experience.

If you have any questions or require assistance with the email verification process, our support team is readily available to assist you.

Demo Link

Want to experience Unizim firsthand? Join the Firebase App Distribution to get access to the Unizim APK and try out the app on your device.

To access the Unizim demo:

1. Visit the Firebase App Distribution page: 👉 Click here to join

2. Follow the instructions to join the distribution list.

3. Once you’re approved, you will receive an email with a link to download the Unizim APK.

4. Download and install the APK on your Android device.

5. Open Unizim and explore its impressive features, such as event management, real-time chat, counseling appointments booking, discussions, and more.

Intro Video

Watch our intro video to see Unizim in action! Gain insights into the app’s features, user interface, and how it can transform your educational journey.

Conclusion

Unizim sets a new standard for educational apps by empowering both students and faculty members to thrive in their academic pursuits. With its extensive feature set, including event management, brackets, real-time chat, counseling appointments booking, discussion platforms, and user profiles, Unizim provides a unified ecosystem that enhances collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and academic success.

Powered by Flutter, Appwrite, and Firebase, Unizim delivers a seamless and personalized user experience. Embrace Unizim and unlock your full potential as a student or faculty member. Join the Unizim community today and embark on a transformative educational experience!

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog post is for illustrative purposes only. Unizim’s availability, features, and functionality may be subject to change based on ongoing development and user feedback.