🌟 SkillUp

Peer-to-Peer Skill Exchange & Mentorship Platform

🚀 A full-stack platform for teaching, learning, and collaboration through
💎 credit-based skill swaps and 🎓 paid mentorship courses.

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📖 Overview

SkillUp bridges the gap between learners and mentors by creating a collaborative ecosystem where users can:

• Swap skills for free using a credit-based system
• Monetize expertise via structured mentorship programs

It ensures affordable learning, secure transactions, and real-time engagement, powered by a scalable MERN stack + real-time features.

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🏗️ System Architecture

graph TD
    A[👤 User Profiles] -->|Skills + Preferences| B[(⚙️ Matching Algorithm)]
    B --> C[🔔 Real-Time Notifications: Socket.IO]
    B --> D[(💎 Credit System)]
    D --> E[📚 Free Skill Swaps]
    D --> F[💳 Paid Mentorship Courses]
    F --> G[(Stripe Payment Gateway)]
    C --> H[🌐 Responsive React.js Frontend]
    H --> I[(MongoDB Database)]

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✨ Features

• 🔎 Skill Matching Algorithm → Node.js + Express.js + MongoDB ensures relevant matches
• 💡 Skill Swaps & Mentorship → Choose between free credit-based exchanges or premium paid mentorship
• 📲 Real-Time Notifications → Socket.IO delivers instant updates for sessions & reviews
• 💎 Credit System → Earn credits by teaching, spend to learn — fair & transparent
• 🛡️ Verified Learners → REST APIs for vetting learners/mentors
• 💳 Secure Payments → Stripe/PayPal integrations for smooth payouts
• 🌐 Modern UI/UX → React.js frontend with responsive design across devices
• ⭐ Community Reviews → MongoDB-backed system for mentor & learner ratings

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⚙️ Tech Stack

• Frontend → HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React.js
• Backend → Node.js + Express.js (REST APIs)
• Database → MongoDB (profiles, credits, reviews, transactions)
• Real-Time → Socket.IO for notifications
• Security → JWT, bcrypt.js, Helmet
• Payments → Stripe API

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📊 Workflow

1. User registers profile → selects skills & learning interests
2. Matching Algorithm → finds best peer or mentor
3. Credit Transactions → managed securely for swaps
4. Session Confirmation → real-time notification via Socket.IO
5. Mentorship Courses → secure payments via Stripe/PayPal
6. Community Feedback → ratings & reviews stored in MongoDB

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🗺️ Roadmap

• Credit-based skill exchange
• Real-time matching & notifications
• Payment gateway integration
• AI-driven skill recommendations
• Mobile App (React Native)
• Gamification (badges, leaderboards)

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👥 Team & Contributors

• 👨‍💻 Titas Kabiraj
• 👨‍💻 Sagnik Basak
• 👨‍💻 Aryan Ghosh
• 👨‍💻 Srijit Roy

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🚀 Getting Started

🔹 Backend (Node.js + Express.js)

cd backend
npm install
npm run dev

🔹 Frontend (React.js)

cd frontend
npm install
npm start

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🔑 Environment Variables

Create a .env file in backend:

MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection
JWT_SECRET=your_secret_key
STRIPE_KEY=your_stripe_key
PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID=your_paypal_client_id

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📈 Example Credit Transaction Log

====================================================================================================
 User                Action         Credits Earned   Credits Spent   Balance   Description
 Sganik Basak        Teach Coding     +50              0             350       Earned by teaching JS basics
 Aryan Ghosh         Learn Coding     0                -50           250       Spent to learn JS basics
====================================================================================================

N.B.: INITIAL DEFAULT CREDITS: 300

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📜 License

MIT License © 2025 SkillUp Team

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⭐ If you like this project, consider giving it a star to support us!

🌍 Together, let’s make learning affordable, collaborative, and global ✨ SkillUp – Empowering people, one skill at a time. 🚀