Points-based skill exchange platform

The problem

Many people have skills others need, and money is the only barrier to exchanging them. A student who's good at design may need someone to translate for them, and the translator may need someone to fix their laptop. But direct exchange is hard because it depends on coincidence: each side must need exactly what the other has at the same time. A points system solves this: you help someone today and get a service from someone else a month later.

How it works

1. RegistrationEach user creates an account and adds their skills and the services they need.
2. MatchingAI analyzes the request and suggests the best people to do it.
3. OrderThe user sends a service request, and the other side accepts or declines.
4. VerificationThe ID card and reader confirm both parties' identity at handover.
5. DeliveryBoth parties confirm completion electronically after the service.
6. PointsPoints move from the person requesting the service to the provider, who can use them later.

Project features

• It combines social and technical dimensions, which catches the committee's attention more than purely technical projects.
• The points system removes the reliance on a coincidental match — a strength that's easy to explain.
• It combines a full web platform, AI, and a physical component.
• It can be deployed for real inside the university as its first market.
• Card verification adds a tangible level of trust.

Expected challenges

These are the main obstacles to expect during the build, laid out clearly so you know them before you start.

• Valuing services in points, such as how an hour of translation compares with an hour of repair.
• Preventing abuse, such as fake accounts trading points among themselves.
• Ensuring the quality of the service delivered and handling disputes.
• Attracting the first users, since the platform is worthless without them.
• Linking the physical component to the platform in a way that serves a real function, not a cosmetic one.

The consultation gives you a solution for each one.

Expected committee questions

Prepare your answers in advance: these questions come up often in defenses of similar projects.

1. How is each service's value in points set fairly?
2. How does AI suggest the best person for a request?
3. How do you verify the service was actually delivered before points move?
4. How are abuse and fake accounts created to collect points prevented?

Practice the defense, question by question