🎓 Alumni Data Management App

Design and Development of a Web Application for Alumni Data Management.

📋 Project Overview

This is a full-stack web application designed to manage alumni data efficiently. The system allows administrators to track alumni information, manage events, and maintain contact records.

Tech Stack:

• Backend: Django REST Framework with Python
• Frontend: Flutter Web Application
• Database: SQLite (Development) / PostgreSQL (Production)
• Authentication: JWT Token-based Authentication

🏗️ Project Structure

Alumni Data Management App/
├── backend-django/              # Django REST API Backend
│   ├── alumni_app/             # Main Django application
│   │   ├── models.py           # Database models
│   │   ├── views.py            # API views and logic
│   │   ├── serializers.py      # Data serialization
│   │   └── urls.py             # API endpoints
│   ├── alumni_project/         # Django project settings
│   ├── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies
│   ├── manage.py              # Django management script
│   └── .gitignore             # Backend-specific ignores
├── frontend-flutter/           # Flutter Web Frontend
│   ├── lib/                   # Dart source code
│   │   ├── main.dart          # App entry point
│   │   ├── models/            # Data models
│   │   ├── pages/             # UI screens
│   │   └── functions/         # Business logic
│   ├── web/                   # Web-specific configuration
│   ├── pubspec.yaml           # Flutter dependencies
│   └── test/                  # Flutter tests
├── .gitignore                 # Project-wide ignores
└── README.md                  # This file

✨ Features

Alumni Management

• ✅ Create, read, update, and delete alumni records
• ✅ Track contact information (name, email, phone, country)
• ✅ Record academic details (course, graduation year)
• ✅ Store professional information (company, area of expertise)
• ✅ Set availability and contact preferences

Event Management

• ✅ Create and manage alumni events
• ✅ Track event attendance
• ✅ Alumni-event relationship management

Contact Tracking

• ✅ Record previous contacts with alumni
• ✅ Track contact methods and descriptions
• ✅ Associate contacts with specific users

Authentication & Security

• ✅ JWT-based authentication
• ✅ User registration and login
• ✅ Password reset functionality
• ✅ Secure API endpoints

Advanced Features

• ✅ Alumni filtering and search capabilities
• ✅ Recommended alumni for events
• ✅ RESTful API with comprehensive endpoints

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following installed:

• Python 3.8+
• Flutter SDK 3.6.1+
• Git
• PostgreSQL (for production) or SQLite (for development)

Backend Setup (Django)

1. Navigate to backend directory

   cd backend-django

2. Create and activate virtual environment

   # Windows
   python -m venv .venv
   .venv\Scripts\activate
   
   # macOS/Linux
   python3 -m venv .venv
   source .venv/bin/activate

3. Install Python dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Set up environment variables

   # Create .env file with your configuration
   # Example:
   DEBUG=True
   SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
   DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///db.sqlite3

5. Run database migrations

   python manage.py makemigrations
   python manage.py migrate

6. Create a superuser (optional)

   python manage.py createsuperuser

7. Start the Django development server

   python manage.py runserver

   The API will be available at http://127.0.0.1:8000/

Frontend Setup (Flutter)

1. Navigate to frontend directory

   cd frontend-flutter

2. Install Flutter dependencies

   flutter pub get

3. Run the Flutter web application

   flutter run -d chrome

   The web app will be available at http://localhost:3000/ (or the port shown in terminal)

🔧 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/register/ - User registration
• POST /api/login/ - User login
• POST /api/logout/ - User logout
• POST /api/forgot-password/ - Password reset

Alumni Management

• GET /api/alumni/ - List all alumni (with filtering)
• POST /api/alumni/ - Create new alumni
• GET /api/alumni/{id}/ - Get specific alumni
• PUT /api/alumni/{id}/ - Update alumni
• DELETE /api/alumni/{id}/ - Delete alumni

Events

• GET /api/events/ - List all events
• POST /api/events/ - Create new event
• GET /api/events/{id}/ - Get specific event
• PUT /api/events/{id}/ - Update event
• DELETE /api/events/{id}/ - Delete event

Contact History

• GET /api/contacts/ - List contact history
• POST /api/contacts/ - Record new contact
• GET /api/contacts/?alumni={id} - Get contacts for specific alumni

🗃️ Database Models

Alumni Model

• Personal Information: name, email, phone
• Academic: prior_course, year_of_graduation
• Professional: company, area_of_expertise
• Contact Preferences: availability, contact_times, country

Event Model

• Basic Information: name, date, time, description

AlumniEvent Model

• Relationship between Alumni and Events
• Attendance tracking

PreviousContact Model

• Contact history tracking
• Associated with User and Alumni

🧪 Testing

Backend Testing

cd backend-django
python manage.py test

Frontend Testing

cd frontend-flutter
flutter test

🔒 Security Features

• JWT token-based authentication
• Password hashing
• CORS protection
• Input validation and sanitization
• Protected API endpoints

📱 Frontend Features

• Responsive design for web and mobile
• Material Design UI components
• State management with Provider
• HTTP client for API communication
• Secure storage for authentication tokens

🛠️ Development Tools

• Backend: Django Admin Panel at /admin/
• API Documentation: Available at /api/docs/ (if configured)
• Testing: Comprehensive test suites for both backend and frontend
• Linting: Code quality enforcement

📦 Dependencies

Backend (Django)

• Django 5.1.7
• Django REST Framework
• django-filter
• django-cors-headers
• djangorestframework-simplejwt
• psycopg2 (PostgreSQL)

Frontend (Flutter)

• http (API communication)
• provider (State management)
• flutter_secure_storage (Secure token storage)
• shared_preferences (Local storage)
• font_awesome_flutter (Icons)

🚀 Deployment

Backend Deployment

1. Set up PostgreSQL database
2. Configure environment variables
3. Run migrations: python manage.py migrate
4. Collect static files: python manage.py collectstatic
5. Deploy using your preferred platform (Heroku, AWS, etc.)

Frontend Deployment

1. Build for web: flutter build web
2. Deploy the build/web directory to your web server

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature-name
3. Make your changes and commit: git commit -m 'Add feature'
4. Push to the branch: git push origin feature-name
5. Submit a pull request

📝 License

This project is developed for educational purposes as part of a university project.

👨‍💻 Author

Handhwarah Muhumuza
Year 3 Student - University of Portsmouth GitHub: @HandharJunino

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📞 Support

For support or questions about this project, please:

1. Check the existing issues on GitHub
2. Create a new issue if needed
3. Contact the development team

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Note: This is an academic project developed for my Final Year Project.