MUETHUB: A Web App for University Communication and Collaboration
TL;DR
The main novelty of MUETHUB is that it includes an authenticated student-to-teacher communication system, departmental forums, a community management module, an academic resource sharing section, public forums, and AI chatbot.
Abstract
Effective communication and collaboration are vital aspects for facilitating academic activities at universities. However, at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), the current means of communication are rather decentralized and include the use of WhatsApp groups, social media pages, manual announcements, and informal student interaction, which often results in disinformation, delays, and lack of structured collaboration. Hence, the purpose of the current research project is to develop a centralized platform for MUET-specific communication and collaboration. The main novelty of MUETHUB is that it includes an authenticated student-to-teacher communication system, departmental forums, a community management module, an academic resource sharing section, public forums, and AI chatbot. The platform was developed using the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, Node.js), TypeScript, and the Tailwind CSS framework for application development. The official information about MUET was taken from the university sources. The information about the communities was checked through the approval system. Separate modules, including the authentication module, messaging module, resource-sharing module, community management module, and AI chatbot, were designed and implemented into one unified platform and tested through user testing and feedback. A test with the participation of 30 participants demonstrated a user satisfaction of 92%, while AI chatbot was rated positively by 88%. Performance tests done in a controlled environment gave the following results: average page loading time is 2.1 sec, average system reaction time is 1.8 sec, and the accuracy of response of the chatbot is 88%. Thus, students and teachers of MUET can use MUETHUB to communicate with each other through authenticated departmental and private messages, share academic resources, get involved in university communities, and access official information about MUET. The AI chatbot provides immediate responses to university-related questions based on verified information of the institution, thus assisting new students with onboarding. The administrative modules allow managing departments, communities, public forums, and chatbot training data.