UTAR community application for students

• Main Author: Chang, Ping Yen
• Format: Final Year Project / Dissertation / Thesis
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: HB Economic Theory; T Technology (General); TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
• Online Access: http://eprints.utar.edu.my/6032/1/fyp_CS_2023_CPY.pdf; http://eprints.utar.edu.my/6032/

Universities nowadays are taking advantage of modern technology by releasing their own community apps, which aim to improve students' connections and enhance their university experience. First-year students often have a much more difficult time adjusting to a new environment. New to the environment, first-year students are bound to have questions they would like to enquire others for help, but most of the time, they lack connections and do not know whom to seek out. In addition, students will also have to deal with the dilemma of building new friendships as they are either shy or afraid of social rejection. Furthermore, students also lack a proper platform which allows them to share opinions anonymously. Most of the time, students wish to share their thoughts on specific issues with everyone but are afraid of judgment and the risk of cyberbullying. UTAR Community Application for Students, an online university community mobile application, is developed to solve the problems mentioned. The app's target users are UTAR (University Tunku Abdul Rahman) students. It aims to provide a platform for students to make friends easily within their surroundings. Besides, the app allows students to engage in anonymous forums, encouraging freedom of speech. Lastly, the app allows first-year students to register as mentees and be assigned to a senior who will support and facilitate first-year students' journey throughout the peer mentoring program. The project uses RAD-based methodology, which includes 4 phases while a laptop and mobile phone will be used for developing and testing the app.