🎓 VITamin: A Personalized EdTech Companion

An Integrated Academic & Campus Life Platform for VIT Students

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Overview

VITamin is a purpose-built mobile/web platform designed exclusively for students of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT). It bridges the gap between institutional systems like VTOP and day-to-day student productivity by providing intelligent automation, personalized scheduling, peer matching, and campus engagement — all in one unified companion app.

Unlike generic tools like Google Calendar or Notion, VITamin understands VIT's specific ecosystem: attendance policies, VTOP's data structure, slot-based timetables, and campus culture. It is built as an EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) project with direct, measurable community impact.

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Features

• 🔗 VTOP Integration: Automated timetable and attendance sync via web scraping (BeautifulSoup + Selenium) — no manual data entry
• 📅 Smart Daily Planner: Graph-coloring-based conflict-free schedule generation with task prioritization using greedy heuristics
• 🎯 Goal Tracking: Create, track, and visualize academic and personal goals (DSA prep, fitness, courses) with gamification and reminders
• 📣 Campus Event Hub: Aggregated events from VIT clubs, official pages, and social media — with RSVP tracking and personalized recommendations
• 🤝 ML-Driven People Matching: AI-powered peer matching using Gemini API to connect students with shared academic goals and interests
• 💬 Real-Time Chat: WebSocket-based one-on-one and group messaging for study collaboration
• 🔔 Smart Notifications: Attendance alerts, class reminders, goal nudges, and event updates
• 📴 Offline-First: SQLite-based local storage with background sync — works in low-connectivity campus areas

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Mobile Frontend	React Native, Redux Toolkit, NativeWind (Tailwind)
Web Frontend	React, PWA
API Gateway	FastAPI (Python)
Auth Service	Python, FastAPI, JWT, SQLAlchemy
VTOP Scraper	Python, BeautifulSoup, Selenium
Scheduler	Python, C++ (Greedy + Graph Coloring)
Goal Tracker	Python, Django 4.2, Django REST Framework
Event Service	Python, Django, Celery
ML Matching	Python, FastAPI, Gemini API
Chat Service	Python, FastAPI, WebSockets
Notification Service	Python, FastAPI, FCM
Database (Primary)	MongoDB Atlas, PostgreSQL
Cache	Redis
Offline Storage	SQLite (react-native-sqlite-storage)
Deployment	Docker, AWS EC2 / GCP Cloud Run

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Project Structure

VITAMIN/
│
├── vitamin-app-frontend/        # React Native mobile app + React web app
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── screens/             # Dashboard, Planner, Goals, Events, Chat, Profile
│   │   ├── components/          # Reusable UI components
│   │   ├── navigation/          # React Navigation stack + tab navigators
│   │   ├── store/               # Redux Toolkit state management
│   │   └── services/            # API client, WebSocket, SQLite handlers
│   └── package.json
│
├── vitamin-backend/             # Python microservices backend
│   ├── auth/
│   │   ├── auth.py              # Registration, login, JWT token generation
│   │   ├── models.py            # User schema (SQLAlchemy)
│   │   └── schemas.py           # Pydantic validation schemas
│   ├── vtop/
│   │   ├── vtop_scraper.py      # Timetable + attendance HTML scraper
│   │   └── schedules.py         # Timetable sync + storage
│   ├── scheduler/
│   │   └── scheduler.py         # Greedy graph-coloring schedule generator (C++)
│   ├── goals/
│   │   └── goals.py             # Goal CRUD, progress tracking, reminders
│   ├── events/
│   │   └── events.py            # Event aggregation, RSVP, categorization
│   ├── ml_matching/
│   │   └── matching.py          # Gemini API-based peer matching + suggestions
│   ├── chat/
│   │   └── chat.py              # WebSocket chat, message history (MongoDB)
│   ├── notifications/
│   │   └── notifications.py     # FCM push + in-app notification triggers
│   ├── database.py              # MongoDB + PostgreSQL connection setup
│   ├── models.py                # SQLAlchemy ORM models
│   ├── schemas.py               # Global Pydantic schemas
│   └── main.py                  # FastAPI app entry point + router registration
│
├── vtop_parsed_data.json        # Sample parsed VTOP data for development/testing
├── timetable_response.html      # Raw VTOP HTML responses (for scraper testing)
├── attendance_response.html
├── choose_attendance.html
├── choose_attendance_response.html
├── choose_attendance_semester.html
├── choose_timetable_response.html
├── grade_history_response.html
├── debug_tt_dump.html
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

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System Architecture

Client Layer (React Native / React Web / PWA)
              ↓
  API Gateway — FastAPI (Auth, Rate Limiting, Routing)
              ↓
 ┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │         Application Layer (Microservices)  │
 │                                            │
 │  Auth      VTOP      Scheduler   Events   │
 │  Service   Scraper   (C++/Py)    Service  │
 │                                            │
 │  Goal      ML        Chat        Notify   │
 │  Tracker   Matching  Service     Service  │
 └────────────────────────────────────────────┘
              ↓
     RabbitMQ / AWS SQS (Message Queue)
              ↓
 ┌──────────────────────────────┐
 │         Data Layer           │
 │  MongoDB  │ PostgreSQL │ Redis│
 └──────────────────────────────┘
              ↓
   Docker + Kubernetes (AWS/GCP)

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API Routes

Route Pattern	Target Service	Description
/api/auth/*	Auth Service	Login, signup, JWT token refresh
/api/vtop/*	VTOP Service	Timetable fetch, attendance sync
/api/schedule/*	Scheduler Service	Daily schedule generation & optimization
/api/events/*	Event Service	Campus events, RSVP, filtering
/api/goals/*	Goal Service	Goal tracking and progress updates
/api/ai/*	ML Service	Peer matching, AI suggestions, chat
/api/chat/*	Chat Service	Messaging, chat history
/api/notify/*	Notification Service	Push notification management

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How It Works

User opens app
      ↓
Check local JWT token
      ↓
  Valid? → Fetch user profile → Show dashboard
      ↓
  Invalid? → Login screen (VTOP credentials)
      ↓
Auth Service → Generate JWT → Store locally (SQLite + server)
      ↓
VTOP Scraper → Parse timetable HTML → Cache in Redis (24hr TTL) + PostgreSQL
      ↓
Scheduler Service → Graph coloring + greedy heuristics → Generate today's plan
      ↓
ML Matching Service (background) → Gemini API → Find study buddies
      ↓
Notification Service → 10-min reminder before next class

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Database Schema

Collection	Key Fields
users	registration_number, email, password (hashed), attendance, current_semester
schedules	id, owner_id, time, title, loc, type, status, semester
goals	id, owner_id, title, description, deadline, progress
chat_messages	id, sender_id, receiver_id, message, timestamp
notifications	id, user_id, message, type, timestamp

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Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Python 3.11+
• MongoDB Atlas account (or local MongoDB)
• PostgreSQL
• Redis (local or cloud)
• Expo CLI (for React Native)

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1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Parth-bot-crypto26/VITAMIN.git
cd VITAMIN

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2. Backend Setup

cd vitamin-backend
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate        # Linux / macOS
venv\Scripts\activate.bat       # Windows

pip install -r requirements.txt

Create a .env file in vitamin-backend/:

MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_atlas_uri
POSTGRES_URL=your_postgresql_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

Start the backend:

uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

API docs will be available at http://localhost:8000/docs

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3. Frontend Setup

cd vitamin-app-frontend
npm install

Configure the API base URL in src/services/api.js:

export const BASE_URL = "http://localhost:8000/api";

Start the app:

npx expo start

• Press a for Android emulator
• Press i for iOS simulator
• Scan QR code with Expo Go for physical device

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Development Timeline

Phase	Duration	Key Deliverables
Phase 1: Foundation	Months 1–3	VTOP scraping, auth, timetable display, offline mode
Phase 2: Core Features	Months 4–6	Goal tracking, event hub, push notifications, web app
Phase 3: Intelligence	Months 7–9	ML matching, real-time chat, advanced scheduling, analytics
Phase 4: Scale & Polish	Months 10–12	User testing (100+ students), production deployment, optimization

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Team

Name	Reg. No.	Role
Anshika Debroy	23BMR10019	Testing & Progress Report Lead
Parth Deshpande	23BAI10120	Frontend Developer
Ansh Lachhwani	23BET10008	Backend Developer
Vatsal Jain	23BET10016	ML & Recommendation System Developer
Vaibhavi Singh	23BCE10875	Database & System Architect
Aalya Bagga	23BCE11647	Project Manager & Integration Lead

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Research Foundation

VITamin is academically grounded in the following works:

• Graph Coloring for Scheduling — Ramasamy et al. (2019), IJRTE
• Collaborative Filtering — Resnick et al., GroupLens (1994)
• K-Means Clustering — MacQueen (1967)
• Social Learning Theory — Bandura (1977)
• Zone of Proximal Development — Vygotsky (1978)
• ERP Systems in Education — Al-Mashari (2003)
• Student Wellbeing & Academic Performance — El Ansari & Stock (2010)

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Acknowledgements

Built as Team EPICS23-010 under the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program at VIT Bhopal University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh — March 2026.

Special thanks to the VIT student community whose feedback shaped every feature of this platform.

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VITamin — Built by students, for students.