Project Overview

Uplift website designed to empower FGLI students, whether they're already in university or aspiring to go! All they need to do is make an account, and they’ll be able to connect with other students from a similar background who can provide the guidance and support that they need to succeed.

Inspiration

Being the first in one’s family to go to university is, for many, a lonely and overwhelming process. FGLI students might face difficulties such as not knowing how to find scholarships or apply for financial aid. They might also experience a sense of loneliness from being in a campus where the majority of students do not come from the same background. We thought that the best support would come from those who truly understand this journey — other FGLI students.

What it does

Uplift is a website where students can make an account and access a forum dedicated to their current or future university. On the forum, users can make and reply to posts under three different categories. Under “Advice”, users can ask for advice for anything from applying for financial aid, student discounts, and the admissions process. The “Social” category is for users looking to build connections with their peers. Students can also post under the “Resource Exchange” category to borrow or give away textbooks or other resources, easing the financial burden.

How we built it

We first wire-framed it using Figma. To create the website, we used HTML, CSS and Javascript. For the user authentication system, we used Django and Python.

Challenges

It took some time to synthesise the initial thoughts and ideas we had into a clear and feasible solution. Creating a user-authentication system proved to be more difficult than we anticipated, but we were able to eventually figure it out with the help of Django tutorials. Finally, as we had multiple people working on the front-end, there was a lot of debugging that had to be done when combining the different HTML and CSS files.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of learning how to use HTML, CSS, and Javascript in a relatively short amount of time, as well as creating a functional authentication system and forum. Being able to bring a large part of our idea to life made coding and participating in Hackathons significantly less intimidating.

What we learned

On the technical side, we learned how to use Figma for prototyping, as well as the basics of HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Django helped us develop our skills in backend and working with web frameworks. We also gained an appreciation for how coding can drive positive change. Despite our limited experience, we were able to create a product that has the potential to make an impact — we’re excited to see where this project goes after the Hackathon!

User Guide SET UP INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add python to PATH: https://phoenixnap.com/kb/add-python-to-path
2. Install Git
3. Clone the Github to your Desktop by using git.bash (git clone https://github.com/zeukyr/UpLift)
4. Open command prompt or terminal
5. Install and create virtual environment on command prompt. Do not activate.
6. Change directory to the project folder
7. Activate virtual environment
8. Install django (pip install django)
9. Run website locally (python manage.py runserver). This should return a link.
10. Copy and paste the https:// link into your browser

STEP-BY-STEP

1. Click on the Log In button at the right of the Navigation bar
2. Register for an account
3. Input your login details into the Log In form to sign into your account
4. Click on Forum
5. Search for your current/future university on the search bar. If you can’t find it, let us know in the Feedback form
6. Create your own post using the “Create Post +” button. If you want to view or reply to other posts, you can click directly on the post titles

What's next

There were features we had initially thought of but did not have time to include. In the future, we hope to implement a chat feature to allow students to interact privately and build stronger relationships. We also want to add a scholarship database, to give students a comprehensive list of potential financial aids. Lastly, partnering with universities would provide Uplift with increased publicity—an important factor for a community-based website.