Case study 03 / 03
EduConnect
- Python
- Django
- PostgreSQL
- JavaScript
A web platform for Ethiopian students to find learning resources and connect with each other, built in INSA's four-month Summer Tech Camp. I led the team and designed the backend.
- Role
- Team lead and backend architect
- Year
- 2025
- Team
- Multidisciplinary team, INSA Summer Tech Camp
- Stack
- Python, Django, Django REST Framework, PostgreSQL, JavaScript
Problem
Students across Ethiopia had no single place to find learning resources and connect with each other.
Constraints
- Four months from idea to a working, deployed product.
- A team with mixed experience, so the backend had to be easy for everyone to work in.
Architecture
Web frontend
JavaScript · deployed on Vercel
REST API
Django REST Framework
Database
PostgreSQL
A separate frontend and API, so the frontend and backend developers on the team could work in parallel against an agreed contract.
Key decisions
Trade-off 1
I chose Django and Django REST Framework over a hand-rolled Node.js API, because the admin, auth and serializers come built in, which matters on a four-month deadline with a mixed team.
Trade-off 2
I chose a relational PostgreSQL model over a document store, because students, courses and resources are related records, and the joins between them are the product.
Trade-off 3
I chose a REST API with a separate frontend over server-rendered Django templates, because the team could split along the API contract and build both halves at the same time.
What I built
- The backend architecture: data model, Django REST APIs and secure API integrations.
- Frontend work alongside the team, and coordination of the build as team lead.
Result
- Shipped within the four-month camp and deployed as a live demo.
What I'd do next
- Search across resources, and a mentor directory that connects students with graduates.