Project Description

Background: 

DandyHive came about as a term project for CSC211 Spring 2023 semester, where teams of 2-4 students decided on a problem to tackle in the field of Human Computer Interaction and build a product as a proof of concept. Our team decided to tackle the following problem, and thus conducted research on competitors to refine our own solution.

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Problem:

Students looking to network and explore their interests have difficulty finding/maintaining meaningful mentorship opportunities

 

Limitations of existing products:

LinkedIn - Students reach out to random connections via their school network to try and identify people who would be interested in helping guide them along their career path.

• Limited exposure: Students must search through an entire complicated network of students to find willing mentors, getting recommendations that are of interest to them on rare occasions

• Limited pool: Finding a mentor also depends on the number of students who are active on LinkedIn, narrowing the list of potential mentors

• Limited availability - Current students may be busy with their own coursework, extracurricular activities, and other commitments, which can make it difficult to schedule regular meetings or maintain consistent communication.

 

Solution:

Provide a centralized hub dedicated only to current students of the University of Rochester that encourages meaningful relationships between mentors and mentees. Users are able to register for an account on the web page and set their basic information such as class year, major, club membership, past work experience, etc. Potential mentees can search for potential mentors by filtering for certain criteria and only see mentors that match those factors. Once they send them a mentorship request, the mentor then must decide whether or not to accept them. If the mentorship is accepted, mentors and mentees will be able to communicate or schedule meetings on the platform.  By implementing a strike system that expects all types of users, both mentees, and mentors, to show up to meetings or otherwise face being barred from the service, mentees and mentors are encouraged to form meaningful relationships with one another and to have consistent communication throughout the mentorship process.