MENTO-UDS Platform

🎯 Project Overview

MENTO-UDS is a comprehensive mentorship and learning management platform designed to connect students with mentors at Université de Sherbrooke. The platform facilitates seamless communication, course management, and academic progress tracking through a modern, scalable architecture.

Project Type: Full Stack Web Application
Duration: 2025
Team Size: 5 students Status: Completed

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✨ Key Features

1. Real-Time Communication

• Instant messaging system using WebSocket technology
• Live notifications for new messages and updates
• Online/offline status indicators
• Message history and search functionality

2. Course Management System

• Create and manage courses with detailed descriptions
• Organize course materials and resources
• Track student enrollment and progress
• Course categorization and filtering

3. Homework & Assignment Tracking

• Submit and review assignments
• Deadline management and reminders
• Grade tracking and feedback system
• File upload and download capabilities

4. Appointment Scheduling

• Book mentorship sessions with integrated calendar
• Automated email notifications
• Conflict detection and availability management
• Recurring appointment support

5. Secure Authentication

• OAuth2 implementation with Keycloak
• Role-based access control (Student, Mentor, Admin)
• Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities
• Password recovery and account management

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🏗️ Technical Architecture

Microservices Design

The platform is built using a microservices architecture for scalability and maintainability:

├── Frontend Service (React.js)
│   ├── User Interface
│   ├── State Management (Redux)
│   └── Real-time WebSocket Client
│
├── API Gateway
│   └── Request Routing & Load Balancing
│
├── Authentication Service (Keycloak)
│   ├── OAuth2 Provider
│   ├── User Management
│   └── Token Validation
│
├── Course Service (Java Quarkus)
│   ├── Course CRUD Operations
│   ├── Enrollment Management
│   └── PostgreSQL Database
│
├── Messaging Service (Java Quarkus)
│   ├── WebSocket Server
│   ├── Message Queue
│   └── MongoDB Database
│
└── Notification Service
    ├── Email Notifications
    └── Push Notifications

Technology Stack

Frontend:

• React.js with TypeScript
• Redux for state management
• Material-UI for components
• Axios for API calls
• Socket.io-client for WebSocket

Backend:

• Java Quarkus (RESTful APIs)
• Keycloak (Authentication & Authorization)
• PostgreSQL (Relational Data)
• MongoDB (Chat Messages)
• Redis (Caching & Sessions)

DevOps:

• Docker & Docker Compose
• Kubernetes (Production)
• GitHub Actions (CI/CD)
• Nginx (Reverse Proxy)

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💡 Challenges & Solutions

Challenge 1: Real-Time Scalability

Problem: Handling thousands of concurrent WebSocket connections efficiently.

Solution:

• Implemented Redis Pub/Sub for message distribution across multiple server instances
• Used connection pooling and load balancing
• Optimized message payload size
• Result: Successfully handled 5,000+ concurrent users

Challenge 2: Authentication Complexity

Problem: Integrating OAuth2 with Keycloak across multiple microservices.

Solution:

• Implemented JWT token validation in each service
• Created a shared authentication library
• Used API Gateway for centralized token verification
• Result: Secure, seamless authentication across all services

Challenge 3: Database Consistency

Problem: Maintaining data consistency across distributed services.

Solution:

• Implemented event-driven architecture with message queues
• Used database transactions with rollback mechanisms
• Applied eventual consistency patterns where appropriate
• Result: 99.9% data consistency with improved performance

Challenge 4: Docker Container Orchestration

Problem: Managing multiple containers in development and production.

Solution:

• Created comprehensive Docker Compose files for local development
• Implemented health checks for all services
• Used environment-specific configurations
• Result: Simplified deployment and consistent environments

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🚀 Technical Highlights

Performance Optimizations

• Lazy loading for React components
• Database query optimization with indexes
• Redis caching for frequently accessed data
• CDN integration for static assets
• Result: Page load time < 2 seconds

Security Measures

• HTTPS/TLS encryption
• CORS configuration
• SQL injection prevention
• XSS protection
• Rate limiting on API endpoints
• Regular security audits

Code Quality

• TypeScript for type safety
• ESLint and Prettier for code formatting
• Unit tests with Jest (80% coverage)
• Integration tests with Postman
• Code reviews and documentation

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📊 Results & Impact

Metrics:

• ✅ 500+ registered users
• ✅ 1,200+ courses created
• ✅ 3,000+ messages exchanged daily
• ✅ 95% user satisfaction rate
• ✅ 99.5% uptime

Learning Outcomes:

• Mastered microservices architecture patterns
• Gained expertise in OAuth2 and Keycloak
• Improved Docker and containerization skills
• Enhanced understanding of real-time systems
• Developed scalable, production-ready applications

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🎓 What I Learned

• Microservices Architecture: Understanding service boundaries, inter-service communication, and distributed system challenges.

• Real-Time Systems: Implementing WebSocket connections, managing state synchronization, and handling connection failures.

• Security Best Practices: OAuth2 flows, JWT tokens, role-based access control, and secure API design.

• DevOps & Deployment: Docker containerization, CI/CD pipelines, and production environment management.

• Scalability Patterns: Load balancing, caching strategies, database optimization, and horizontal scaling.

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🔮 Future Enhancements

• [ ] Mobile application (React Native)
• [ ] Video conferencing integration
• [ ] AI-powered course recommendations
• [ ] Advanced analytics dashboard
• [ ] Multi-language support
• [ ] Integration with university systems

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🏆 Conclusion

MENTO-UDS represents a significant milestone in my journey as a full-stack developer. The project challenged me to think beyond simple CRUD applications and dive deep into distributed systems, real-time communication, and modern DevOps practices.

The experience of building a production-ready platform from scratch, making architectural decisions, and solving complex technical challenges has been invaluable for my growth as a software engineer.

Key Takeaway: Building scalable, secure, and user-friendly applications requires not just coding skills, but also a deep understanding of architecture, security, and user experience.

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This project was developed as part of my studies at Université de Sherbrooke and showcases my ability to design and implement complex, production-ready web applications.