How I Built UniGram: The Campus Platform for CRSU Jind Students

Hi everyone! 👋 I am Sumit Singh, a BCA student at Chaudhary Ranbir Singh University (CRSU), Jind, Haryana, and a passionate full-stack developer.

Over the past few months, I ideated, designed, and developed UniGram — an independent, mobile-first Progressive Web App (PWA) built to solve real daily problems faced by university students on campus.

Here is the story behind why and how I built it.

💡 The Problem

University students at CRSU faced several daily friction points:

1. Scattered Study Materials: Exam question papers (PYQs) and syllabus notes were hard to find or traded informally in unorganized WhatsApp groups.
2. Hesitation & Privacy Concerns: Many students had genuine questions or campus concerns but were hesitant to speak up under their real identities.
3. No Centralized Campus Bulletin: Lost & found items, department updates, and academic notifications had no unified real-time home.

I wanted to build a single, lightweight digital home that was free, fast, and required 0 MB storage on students' phones.

🛠️ The Tech Stack

I chose a modern, edge-ready tech stack designed for speed and security:

• Frontend: Next.js 16 (App Router) with TypeScript & Tailwind CSS
• Backend Services: Node.js & Express REST APIs
• Database & Auth: Supabase (PostgreSQL with strict Row Level Security policies)
• Deployment & CDN: Vercel Edge Cloud
• PWA Capabilities: Service Workers for offline caching and home-screen install without App Store friction

⚡ What Makes UniGram Special

• 📜 5-Year PYQ Library: One-click instant downloads for CRSU previous year semester question papers.
• 🎭 100% Anonymous Feed: A safe, pseudonymized confession and discussion board where students discuss campus life openly without judgment.
• 💬 Real-Time Peer DMs: Direct messaging between verified students without exposing personal phone numbers.
• 🔍 Campus Lost & Found: A dedicated board to quickly reunite lost items with their owners.
• 🛡️ DPDP Act Privacy: Zero tracking telemetry, completely student-first.

🚀 Reflections & Next Steps

Building UniGram completely from scratch as a student developer taught me how to handle full-stack architecture, database security (RLS), real-time websockets, and scalable UI design.

A huge shoutout to our co-founders Yashika (Community Head) and Aman Rajput (Growth & Outreach) for driving student awareness on campus!

Check out the live platform here:
👉 Live Web App: https://unigramjind.site

👉 Connect with me on GitHub: @SumitSingh-code

Would love your thoughts, feedback, and suggestions in the comments below!