ThesisChain Africa

On-Chain Final-Year Project & Research Registry with Built-In Royalties & Collaborative Improvement

Core Problem It Solves

80%+ of final-year projects in African universities end up as PDF files on dusty shelves or Google Drive folders — zero visibility, zero reuse, zero credit to the student.
Lecturers and juniors constantly “reinvent the wheel” because there’s no discoverable index of past work.
Plagiarism and idea theft is rampant; students have no way to prove original authorship.
Talented students from less-known universities never get discovered by employers or diaspora investors.

How ThesisChain Solves It Using Camp Network + Origin SDK

Feature	Implementation on Camp Network
Mint Your Thesis as Verifiable IP	Student uploads PDF + code + short demo video → auto-minted as Origin-protected composable IP (metadata includes university, matric number, supervisor signature, graduation year)
Fractional Ownership + Improvement Forks	Anyone (junior student, researcher, startup) can “fork & improve” the project by attaching new code/files → new version becomes a derivative IP that automatically pays 5–15% royalty to original author on every future use/download
Earn From Indexing & Citations	Every time someone downloads, cites, or builds on your project → micro-payment in USDC/STRK (e.g. $0.10–$1) + loyalty points. Top 100 most-cited projects each semester get bonus grants from prize pool.
University Validation Layer	Supervisors sign the mint transaction with their wallet (one-time university wallet setup) → only validated projects appear in “Official” gallery
Discoverability & Talent Scout Dashboard	Fully on-chain searchable index (title, tags, department, impact score). Companies pay to access “Top Talent” filtered list (e.g. “Best 50 Computer Science projects in Nigeria 2025”) → revenue shared with students
AI Agent Integration (Future Features)	Camp Network AI agents can read the IP metadata and suggest improvements or auto-remix open-source code parts → agent creator also pays royalty split

Revenue & Loyalty Model (Students Actually Earn)

Action	Earnings for Original Author
Someone downloads full project	$0.20–$1 (set by author)
Someone forks & improves	10% lifetime royalty on the fork’s future earnings
Project ranks in monthly Top 20	$100–$500 bonus from community treasury
Corporate sponsor views your contact	$2–$5 (opt-in)

🌍 Overview

ThesisChain Africa is a revolutionary platform that transforms academic research into valuable digital assets. Researchers can mint their theses as IP-NFTs (Intellectual Property Non-Fungible Tokens), earn royalties from their work, and collaborate with peers across the continent.

Key Features

🎓 IP-NFT Minting: Convert research papers into blockchain-verified digital assets
💰 Royalty System: Earn passive income from thesis usage and citations
🔄 Fork & Collaborate: Build upon existing research with proper attribution
🔍 Global Discovery: Search and explore research from universities across Africa
📊 Analytics Dashboard: Track your research impact and earnings
🌐 Offline-First: Works seamlessly with or without internet connection
🔐 Decentralized Storage: IPFS-based storage ensures permanent accessibility

🚀 What's Working

✅ Core Platform Features

1. IP-NFT Minting System

Full thesis upload and metadata management
IPFS storage integration via Origin SDK
Origin SDK integration for blockchain minting
Automatic royalty configuration (1-100%)
File validation and processing (TXT, PDF support)
Real-time minting progress tracking

2. Database & Storage

MongoDB Atlas integration for production data
Comprehensive data models (Theses, Profiles, Activities)
Indexed queries for fast search and retrieval
Real-time activity tracking
User profile management with social links
Statistics and analytics aggregation

3. User Dashboard

Overview tab with key metrics
My IPNFTs tab showing all minted theses
Activity feed with real-time updates
Analytics with charts and insights
Settings for profile management
Data export functionality

4. Search & Discovery

Global thesis search across all users
Filter by university, department, year
Full-text search capabilities
Thesis detail pages with complete metadata
Author information and wallet addresses
Fork tracking and parent-child relationships

5. Smart Contracts (Deployed on Basecamp Testnet)

ThesisRegistry (0x3B672951E3bF67b0A73E8716eC269bbAEe220550)
- Central registry for all thesis IPNFTs
- Metadata management and validation
- Author tracking and verification
RoyaltySplitter (0xee4744b079226cCCA53a22685a2252B56cE855C5)
- Automatic royalty distribution
- USDC payment integration
- Multi-recipient support for collaborations
ForkTracker (0xA44fB44A1ed8119816AdBAf859f3675dfB186B84)
- Parent-child relationship tracking
- Fork depth calculation
- Derivative work management
UniversityValidator (0xB0999963147a7C1e1D6E74E3fdecC8eEfC628c35)
- Role-based thesis validation
- University verification system
- Access control management

6. Web3 Integration

Camp Network Origin SDK integration
MetaMask and WalletConnect support
Transaction signing and verification
Gas estimation and optimization

7. UI/UX

Modern, responsive design with Tailwind CSS
Dark mode with African-inspired color palette
shadcn/ui component library
Loading states and error handling
Toast notifications for user feedback
Confetti celebrations for successful mints

📋 Tech Stack

Frontend

Framework: Next.js 16 (App Router)
Language: TypeScript 5
Styling: Tailwind CSS v4
UI Components: shadcn/ui (Radix UI)
State Management: Zustand
Forms: React Hook Form + Zod validation

Blockchain

Network: Camp Network Basecamp Testnet
Chain ID: 123420001114
SDK: @campnetwork/origin v1.2.4
Smart Contracts: Solidity 0.8.24

Database & Storage

Database: MongoDB Atlas
Caching: React Query

Development Tools

Smart Contracts: Hardhat + Foundry
Testing: Vitest + Fast-check (property-based)
Deployment: Vercel
Package Manager: pnpm

🛠️ Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ and pnpm
Camp Network Client ID (Register here)
MongoDB Atlas account (Sign up here)

Quick Start

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/thesischain-africa.git
cd thesischain-africa

Install dependencies
```
pnpm install
```

Set up environment variables

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and add your credentials:

# Required for Web3 
NEXT_PUBLIC_CAMP_CLIENT_ID=your_camp_client_id
   
# Required for database
MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string

# Optional
NEXT_PUBLIC_X_BEARER_TOKEN=your_twitter_bearer_token

Run the development server
```
pnpm dev
```
Open your browser Navigate to http://localhost:3000

Getting Testnet Funds

Visit the Camp Network faucet to get testnet ETH:

Faucet: https://faucet.campnetwork.xyz
Explorer: https://explorer.basecamp-testnet.camp.network

📁 Project Structure

thesischain-africa/
├── app/                          # Next.js app directory
│   ├── layout.tsx               # Root layout with providers
│   ├── page.tsx                 # Landing page
│   ├── mint/                    # Minting wizard
│   ├── dashboard/               # User dashboard
│   ├── search/                  # Global search
│   ├── thesis/[id]/            # Thesis detail pages
│   └── api/                     # API routes
│       ├── theses/             # Thesis CRUD operations
│       ├── profiles/           # User profiles
│       ├── activities/         # Activity tracking
│       └── stats/              # Analytics
├── components/                   # React components
│   ├── ui/                      # shadcn/ui components
│   ├── mint-steps/             # Minting wizard steps
│   ├── dashboard/              # Dashboard components
│   ├── thesis/                 # Thesis viewer components
│   ├── navbar.tsx              # Navigation
│   └── web3-provider.tsx       # Web3 setup
├── contracts/                    # Solidity smart contracts
│   ├── ThesisRegistry.sol
│   ├── RoyaltySplitter.sol
│   ├── ForkTracker.sol
│   └── UniversityValidator.sol
├── lib/                          # Utility libraries
│   ├── camp.ts                  # Origin SDK integration
│   ├── mongodb.ts               # Database connection
│   ├── ipnft-methods.ts        # IPNFT utilities
│   └── contracts.ts             # Contract addresses
├── scripts/                      # Deployment scripts
│   ├── deploy.js               # Hardhat deployment
│   └── update-config.js        # Config generator
├── test/                         # Smart contract tests
└── docs/                         # Documentation

🎯 Usage Guide

Minting a Thesis

Connect your wallet using the navbar
Navigate to /mint or click "Mint Thesis"
Upload your thesis (TXT or PDF format)
Fill in metadata:
- Title
- Abstract
- Author name
- University
- Department
- Year
Set royalty percentage (1-100%)
Review and confirm
Sign the transaction in your wallet
Wait for confirmation (usually 10-30 seconds)
Celebrate! 🎉 Your thesis is now an IP-NFT

Viewing Your Theses

Go to Dashboard (/dashboard)
Click "My IPNFTs" tab
Browse your minted theses
Click any thesis to view details
Share the link with others

Searching for Research

Navigate to Search (/search)
Use the search bar to find theses
Filter by:
- University
- Department
- Year
- Keywords
Click any result to view full details

Forking a Thesis

Find a thesis you want to build upon
Click "Fork This Thesis"
Upload your derivative work
Add your contributions
Mint as a new IP-NFT
Original author automatically receives royalties

🔧 Smart Contract Deployment

Using Foundry (Recommended)

# Install Foundry
curl -L https://foundry.paradigm.xyz | bash
foundryup

# Build contracts
forge build

# Deploy to Basecamp testnet
./deploy-foundry.sh

Using Hardhat

# Deploy contracts
pnpm run deploy

# Verify on Blockscout
pnpm run verify

# Update frontend config
pnpm run update-config

See DEPLOYMENT_SUMMARY.md for detailed instructions.

🧪 Testing

Frontend Tests

pnpm test

Smart Contract Tests

# Hardhat tests (73 passing)
npx hardhat test

# Foundry tests
forge test -vvv

Property-Based Testing

pnpm test:watch

📊 Database Schema

Theses Collection

{
  tokenId: string          // Unique IPNFT token ID
  owner: string            // Wallet address
  author: string           // Full name
  authorWallet: string     // Author's wallet
  name: string             // Thesis title
  description: string      // Abstract
  university: string       // University name
  department: string       // Department
  year: number             // Publication year
  fileName: string         // Original filename
  fileType: string         // MIME type
  fileSize: number         // Size in bytes
  royaltyBps: number       // Royalty (basis points)
  imageUrl: string         // Cover image
  ipfsHash: string         // IPFS CID
  forks: number            // Fork count
  parentTokenId?: string   // Parent thesis (if fork)
  mintedAt: number         // Unix timestamp
  mintedTimestamp: string  // ISO timestamp
  isDeleted: boolean       // Soft delete flag
}

Profiles Collection

{
  address: string          // Wallet address (primary key)
  displayName: string      // User's display name
  bio: string              // Biography
  university: string       // Affiliated university
  socials: {
    twitter?: string
    spotify?: string
    tiktok?: string
  }
  totalEarnings: number    // Total royalties earned
  totalIPNFTs: number      // Number of minted theses
  totalForks: number       // Number of forks created
  updatedAt: number        // Last update timestamp
}

Activities Collection

{
  id: string               // Unique activity ID
  type: string             // 'minted' | 'forked' | 'shared' | 'earned'
  userAddress: string      // User's wallet
  tokenId: string          // Related thesis
  thesisName: string       // Thesis title
  amount?: number          // Amount (for earnings)
  timestamp: number        // Unix timestamp
  transactionHash?: string // Blockchain tx hash
}

🚧 Ongoing Improvements

In Progress

Enhanced Search: Full-text search with Elasticsearch
Collaboration Tools: Multi-author thesis support
Citation Tracking: Automatic citation detection and rewards
Peer Review System: Decentralized peer review with reputation
Mobile App: React Native mobile application

Planned Features

Short Term

PDF Viewer: In-browser PDF rendering
Comments & Discussions: Thesis discussion threads
Notifications: Real-time activity notifications
Email Integration: Email alerts for important events
Advanced Analytics: More detailed statistics and charts

Medium Term

DAO Governance: Community-driven platform decisions
Grant System: Funding for promising research
Reputation System: Researcher credibility scores
Cross-Chain Support: Bridge to other blockchains
AI Integration: AI-powered research recommendations

Long Term

Mainnet Launch: Deploy to Camp Network mainnet
Token Launch: Platform governance token
University Partnerships: Official university integrations
Research Marketplace: Buy/sell research access
Conference Integration: Link to academic conferences

Known Issues

PDF Upload: Currently only TXT files fully supported
- Workaround: Convert PDF to TXT before upload
- Fix: PDF parsing library integration in progress
Large File Uploads: Files >10MB may timeout
- Workaround: Compress files before upload
- Fix: Chunked upload implementation planned
Mobile Responsiveness: Some dashboard charts not optimized for mobile
- Workaround: Use desktop for analytics
- Fix: Mobile-first redesign in progress

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! Here's how you can help:

Ways to Contribute

Report Bugs: Open an issue with detailed reproduction steps
Suggest Features: Share your ideas in GitHub Discussions
Submit PRs: Fix bugs or implement new features
Improve Docs: Help us improve documentation
Test: Try the platform and provide feedback

Development Workflow

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Make your changes
Write/update tests
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to your branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

Code Style

Use TypeScript for all new code
Follow the existing code style
Run pnpm lint before committing
Write meaningful commit messages
Add tests for new features

📚 Documentation

Architecture Diagram - System architecture overview
Deployment Guide - Smart contract deployment
Database Guide - Database setup and migration
IPNFT Guide - IPNFT implementation details
Testing Guide - Testing strategies and examples

🔐 Security

Best Practices

Never commit .env files
Keep private keys secure
Audit smart contracts before mainnet
Use hardware wallets for production
Enable 2FA on all accounts

Reporting Vulnerabilities

If you discover a security vulnerability, please email security@thesischain.africa instead of opening a public issue.

📄 License

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

🙏 Acknowledgments

Camp Network for blockchain infrastructure
Origin Protocol for IP-NFT technology
MongoDB for database services
NFT.Storage for IPFS storage
Vercel for hosting
African Research Community for inspiration and feedback

📞 Support & Community

Website: thesischain.africa
Email: elgravicodesh@gmail.com

🌟 Star History

If you find this project useful, please consider giving it a star ⭐

Built with ❤️ for African researchers and developers

Empowering the next generation of African research through blockchain technology

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 13 Commits
.vscode		.vscode
app		app
components		components
contracts		contracts
deployments		deployments
docs		docs
hooks		hooks
lib		lib
public		public
script		script
scripts		scripts
styles		styles
test		test
.env.example		.env.example
.gitignore		.gitignore
README.md		README.md
components.json		components.json
deploy-foundry.sh		deploy-foundry.sh
foundry.toml		foundry.toml
hardhat.config.js		hardhat.config.js
junk.md		junk.md
next.config.mjs		next.config.mjs
package.json		package.json
pnpm-lock.yaml		pnpm-lock.yaml
postcss.config.mjs		postcss.config.mjs
test-mongodb.js		test-mongodb.js
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json
vitest.config.ts		vitest.config.ts

Folders and files

Latest commit

History

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ThesisChain Africa

Core Problem It Solves

How ThesisChain Solves It Using Camp Network + Origin SDK

Revenue & Loyalty Model (Students Actually Earn)

🌍 Overview

Key Features

🚀 What's Working

✅ Core Platform Features

1. IP-NFT Minting System

2. Database & Storage

3. User Dashboard

4. Search & Discovery

5. Smart Contracts (Deployed on Basecamp Testnet)

6. Web3 Integration

7. UI/UX

📋 Tech Stack

Frontend

Blockchain

Database & Storage

Development Tools

🛠️ Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

Quick Start

Getting Testnet Funds

📁 Project Structure

🎯 Usage Guide

Minting a Thesis

Viewing Your Theses

Searching for Research

Forking a Thesis

🔧 Smart Contract Deployment

Using Foundry (Recommended)

Using Hardhat

🧪 Testing

Frontend Tests

Smart Contract Tests

Property-Based Testing

📊 Database Schema

Theses Collection

Profiles Collection

Activities Collection

🚧 Ongoing Improvements

In Progress

Planned Features

Short Term

Medium Term

Long Term

Known Issues

🤝 Contributing

Ways to Contribute

Development Workflow

Code Style

📚 Documentation

🔐 Security

Best Practices

Reporting Vulnerabilities

📄 License

🙏 Acknowledgments

📞 Support & Community

🌟 Star History

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