Codenected

Web platform that connects students with students, to work on projects. Users can find projects to collaborate, connect with others to develop ideas, and explore groups/events to network.

For the following, we are going to define “projects” as collaborative efforts undertaken by a team of students to achieve specific goals. These projects could take many forms and could be related to any number of different areas of study or interests. Some examples of projects that students might work on include:

• Software development projects: Teams could work together to develop a new software application or website.

• Research projects: Teams could work together to conduct research in a specific field, such as biology, physics, or computer science.

• Social projects: Teams could work together to address a social problem or create a solution for it.

An analysis from Linkedin job listing shows that from December 2017 to August 2021 on average 35% of entry level positions often demand 3+ years of experience. Software & IT Services being  60.3% and Finance being 43.8%. Jobs are demanding more experience than one would expect, this results in a barrier for recent graduates who are trying to enter the workforce with just a bachelors degree and no job experience. And it shows because according to Scoot Dettman  CEO of Avenica, a US-based career-matchmaking service for new graduates. “43% of college graduates don’t have a college-level job in their first job after school.”

The problem is that students come out of college with a set curriculum of the major they studied. This forces students who want  better job prospects to seek experience in projects outside the classroom so they can learn and develop important skills. Making them stand out for internships, programs and job opportunities. We know this because of the interviews that we made to campus recruiters from Google, Bloomberg, and Vanguard. 

Furthermore, taking in mind the importance of projects on job outcomes for students, according to the 25 interviews that we made to Florida International University students from the college of engineering, computing, and business. The two most common frustrations that students have at building projects are “I don’t have an idea” and “I don’t have a team to work with.” This is because the process of finding the right people for the right project is challenging.

It is challenging because it requires identifying individuals who have the necessary skills, experience, and interests to be a good fit for the project. Additionally, it can also be challenging to find people who are available, motivated and excited about the project idea.

However, when done successfully, finding the right people for a project can be very rewarding. With the right team in place, a project can be more likely to be completed. Benefiting students in more than just increased skills, knowledge and reputation. But also networking opportunities, opening dors not available before, and also impacting society since a projects offers solutions to problems in our community.  

Overall enhancing their learning  possibilities as well as the impact opportunities over their course of their college carreer

That is why we are building Codenected, to connect students with students to work on projects.

What is it?

Is a web platform that connects students with students to work on projects. Users can create a project’s team to work on an idea, join an existing team, and find groups and events to network. 

Also if a user is not ready yet to apply for a team, Codenected will recommend the courses to gain experience for the role wanted (these courses are not provided by Codenected, but recommended)

If the user has a project idea, the user can post the project with the description, current members (if any), and roles needed in the team (example: Front end developer, Marketing). So other users who are looking to work on a project can search or get matched according to their interests and skills.

How does it work for someone who wants to gain experience?

I go to the website, search for projects according to my skills and interest, see what roles I can fit in, see the member's profiles, decide which ones I would like to apply for, apply, get accepted, and start working on the project. And in the case that I want to work with a team but don’t have the skills yet, then Codenected recommends courses for that role.

How does it work? For someone with an idea

I go to the website to upload my idea, describe the idea as well as the technologies intended to use, determine the roles needed in the team, review the applications, accept those who fit in, and start working on the project together.

Technologies used for Codenected?

Front-End: Javascript, React, HTML, CSS, Sass, MaterialUI Axios. Back-End: AWS(Amplify, DynamoDB, Cognito, API Gateway, Lambda).

Note: The projects can be initiated by the students or by external entities or organizations that are looking for collaboration from students.

Students who wish to work on real projects and gain practical experience but may not have the means or opportunities to do so. These students might want to develop their abilities and compile a collection of work to present to employers, but again, they found themselves stuck with all the problems it has finding the right people to build the right projects.

Some reasons why these students are underserved include:

• Lack of access to resources: Many students may not have access to the resources they need to work on projects, such as equipment or funding.

• Limited opportunities for collaboration: students don’t have the clear opportunity to work on projects with other students or professionals in all the fields.

• Difficulty finding the right team: Even if students have a great idea for a project, they may not know how to find the right people to work on the project with them.

Codenected will address these needs by providing a platform that makes it easier for students to gain hands-on experience working on real projects. Some ways that Codenected will address these needs include:

• Providing a platform for students to create and join project teams: This will make it easier for students to find other students who are interested in working on projects together.

• Creating platform for mentorship, networking and finding events and groups: This will be a valuable resource for students looking to connect with other students or professionals in their field, and could potentially lead to new opportunities or connections.

• Using algorithms to match the right students with the right projects. This will make it easier for students to find and join project teams that align with their interests, skills, and goals.

Overall, by providing a platform that addresses these needs, Codenected will make it easier for students to gain hands-on experience working on real projects, improve their skills, and build a portfolio of work that they can market to companies.

It will enhance student's learning  possibilities as well as their  impact opportunities as soon as they start their college career.

Our team is composed of 7 computer science students from all the years possible, freshmans, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and even an unorthodox self-taught developer. This helps us in building Codenected because we know our users' needs since we are possible users ourselves.

Users who have gone through the process of working on personal projects alone and with peers, as well as users who are just getting started in the process. Therefore, we are familiar with the process that students have when trying to work on personal projects.

In conclusion, we are users who know the obstacles this path has, and have the desire to fix them.

Apart from counting on our experience building personal projects, we interviewed students from different majors and self-taught developers. We focused on knowing the problems they have and how they have tried to solve them. 

We also interviewed company recruiters to understand why personal projects have such an impact on resumes, especially for students looking for an internship or full-time positions.

We also participated in an incubator program at "StartUP FIU". It consisted of a social entrepreneurship Bootcamp, in which we got to design, develop, and test our idea using methods of human-centered design like Design Thinking and Systems Thinking. This helped us get closer to real users, real needs, and real solutions.

Codenected has the potential to be a valuable resource for students looking to collaborate, connect, and gain the skills they need to succeed in their careers. 

By providing the ability for users to create or join project teams. It makes it easier to apply what they have learned in the classroom taking their ideas into something tangible. It encourages creativity and collaboration, and it's a great way for students to have a glimpse on what is working on something they are passionate about.

By making it more accessible to connect and work with likeminded people new professional opportunities will arise. If students have more connections, more doors will be opened, and Codenected helps to push students out into the professional world.

By recommending courses based on the roles they are interested in. Students  who are looking to gain necessary skills and knowledge before working on a project will have the platform to learn what they need.

Overall, Codenected will help students to more effectively plan their education and career path, which will potentially lead to new innovative solutions and better job prospects after graduation.

First, we want to partner with universities so we can have their students create projects and groups on our platform. We think Universities have students with an enormous talent to explore, and they just miss a platform that can help them take their ideas to something tangible. 

However, we also know universities have their own set curriculum and if we want to create a really diverse community then we will have to target Bootcamps. Bootcamps will benefit because their students will have a platform to use all that they have learned in their program and get hands-on experience. Also, these “non-traditional” students will get to work with college students who most probably have different backgrounds and curriculums than them.

Furthermore, we want to give access to those who are non-affiliated with any of our partner organizations (university or Bootcamp), because we want to have the best community, so there can be the best projects built. These non-affiliated professionals will have to pay a fee to be part of our community and will have access to projects from university undergrads, graduates, and Ph.D. students, as well as students from Bootcamps affiliated with Codenected.

In conclusion, we are building a scalable business, first, we will start with Universities and clubs/organizations at universities (Starting with Florida International University), and then expand to Bootcamps students and “non-affiliated” people to add value to the Codenected community. We don’t want to have a separated Codenected for each university, Bootcamp or city. We are looking to join a community as diverse as possible to work on the best projects possible. 

We include technology because our solution is based on the web

We build Codenecte’s platform using the following technologies:

• Front-End: Javascript, React, HTML, CSS, Sass, MaterialUI Axios. 
• Back-End: AWS(Amplify, DynamoDB, Cognito, API Gateway, Lambda

Without these technologies, we would not have a platform to achieve our goals.

We also will include machine learning to match users with projects, events, people, and courses based on their profiles.

We plan to serve at least 1% of Florida International University students from undergrads, graduates, and PhDs. That accounts for 400-500 students that will actively use our platform. From those students, we expect to have at least 15 project teams with 8 members on average, that's 120 students working on their projects in our platform.

I anticipate that building this platform will present several barriers. Some of the potential barriers I may face include:

1. Technical Challenges: From a technical standpoint, it can be difficult to create a web platform that can support a big number of users, offer a matching algorithm, and have many functions like generating projects, teams, events, and groups. 

2. User Acquisition: Getting users to register for and use the platform can be very difficult. To attract potential customers and spread awareness of the platform, this might necessitate a substantial investment in marketing and advertising.

3. User Retention: Keeping users around over time can be difficult. Developing and maintaining the platform's features and functioning, as well as focusing on the user experience, may be necessary to keep people interested in and motivated to use the platform.

4. Monetization: Monetizing the platform may be a challenge, as we rely on partnership with organizations (Starting with Universities)

5. Data and Privacy: It can be difficult to manage and secure user data, especially when it comes to protecting user privacy and abiding by the necessary data protection laws.

6. Legal and Regulatory: There may be legal and regulatory barriers to building and operating a platform like Codenected, such as compliance with data protection laws, intellectual property laws, and other legal requirements.

7. Building trust and reputation: Building trust and reputation with users, and with external organizations, such as universities and bootcamps, can be a challenging and time-consuming task.

Despite these barriers, I believe that by addressing these challenges and investing in the right resources and strategies, it is possible to build a successful platform that helps students to achieve their goals.

Florida International University College of engineering and computing

StartUp FIU

INIT (former UPE tech student organization at Florida International University)

GitStart (New student tech hub in South Florida.)

This business model focuses on delivering and capturing value for university students.

We have two value propositions. The first one is for students "Find like-minded students to work on specific projects' ' for free. We are going to deliver this to our customer segment which is “Students' ' using our platform and marketing through our partner's channels. And we will establish a customer relationship because our users will form the Codenected community. 

It is free for students because universities are the ones paying for them to have access to Connected. And universities will get the value out of us students improving their education, using what they have learned from class, to get real hands-on experience. In addition, universities can showcase what their students have built into the platform.

Or path to financial stability will be achieved by partnering with universities, which pay a fee for the service of providing their students with access to the platform. This revenue can be used to cover the costs of maintaining and developing the platform, as well as to generate profits.

Additionally, Codenected will explore other monetization opportunities such as offering our services to non-affiliated professionals or providing access to the platform to other organizations that are not universities for instance Bootcamps.