A student-led self-learning club dedicated to Embedded Systems and IoT at PACE
Welcome to the IoT and Embedded Systems Club at P.A. College of Engineering. We are a group of passionate students and tech enthusiasts who share a common interest in embedded systems, IoT, and computer science. Our club provides a platform for students to explore, experiment, and create with technology through events, workshops, and projects.
Embed Club emerged from the collective vision of its founding Members: Habeeb Ur Rehman, Nishant Narayanan, and Mohammed Saifuddin. Our alumni play a vital role, leveraging industry experience to train current students in advanced technologies through workshops and mentorship.
Embedded system education is a challenge because it sits at the intersection of many disciplines. Embed Club is planned and managed by the students themselves, ensuring we stay close to industry requirements while learning consciously and actively.
Embed Club was inaugurated on 14th November 2018 at PACE. The club was founded with these core objectives:
- Infrastructure: Creating a community with infrastructure to help technical minds.
- Knowledge Transfer: Connecting experienced mentors and newbies to transfer knowledge.
- Innovation: Connecting like-minded technocrats to generate ideas, products, and technologies.
- Open Lab: Creating an Open Lab with the latest hardware and tools through community contributions.
To meet the requirements from research and industry, we focus on six types of activities:
- Discussion: Sharing experiences among students to form a technology community.
- Training: Hands-on sessions to master knowledge consciously and actively.
- Lecture: Supplements to class, featuring specialists and senior engineers.
- Project: Collaborative work on real-world engineering challenges.
- Contest: Participating in and hosting technical competitions.
- Research: Opportunities for senior members to join advanced research groups.
Embed Club is the IoT and Embedded Systems Club at P.A. College of Engineering (PACE). We are a community of student tech enthusiasts dedicated to self-learning, collaboration, and hands-on innovation in the fields of embedded systems and computer science.
We are dedicated to advancing knowledge and expertise in embedded systems and IoT. Our mission is to foster a community of passionate learners and innovators who collaborate, create, and make a positive impact through technology.
Our vision is to be a leading hub for innovation in embedded systems and IoT. We aim to inspire and educate the next generation of engineers and problem solvers who will shape the future of technology.
Embed Club connects over 100+ Members who share a passion for embedded systems and innovation. Collaborate on groundbreaking projects, host tech events, and network with professionals in fields like Embedded AI, Real-time Systems, and IoT. Join us and be a part of something big!
/docs - SETUP, DESIGN, PRODUCT, CHANGELOG
/public - Static assets (fonts, brand logos, MicroPython runtimes)
/scripts - Seed and maintenance scripts, run with pnpm tsx
/tests - Vitest integration tests and Playwright e2e
/src
/app - Next.js 15 App Router (frontend + Payload admin)
/components - Reusable React components and layouts
/payload - Payload config, collections and globals
/migrations - Migration-managed schema history - never edit a committed one
/lib - Shared utilities and type-safe helpers
/hooks - Custom React hooks
- Intro Visual Identity: A specialized Shared Element Transition (Logo Glide) that persists across page loads for a premium "App-like" feel.
- "Solder & Copper" design system: copper-on-graphite theme with a fabric texture, documented in
docs/DESIGN.md/docs/PRODUCT.md. - Native Form Builder: multi-step wizard forms built in Payload admin; submissions are stored in Payload and can be mirrored idempotently to Google Sheets.
- Automated Media Engine: Integrated Sharp-powered responsive image generation with local development storage and optional Supabase S3 storage in production.
- Relational Directory: Sophisticated member profiles with hierarchical roles, categories, and achievement tracking.
- Resource Hub: A curated repository of tools, tutorials, and simulators with advanced tagging, search, and cutout-card UI.
- Event Orchestration: Full lifecycle management for workshops, meetings, and club activities - with optional registration and feedback forms.
- Certificates: Immediate or scheduled certificate delivery backed by Google Slides, Google Drive, Google Apps Script, and per-recipient tracking.
| Layer | Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend | Next.js 15 (App Router) | Core application routing and SSR/ISR |
| Backend/CMS | Payload CMS 3.82 | Headless content management & local API |
| Database | Neon (PostgreSQL) | Serverless relational database, migration-managed |
| Storage | Local disk / Supabase S3 | Local by default; S3-compatible storage when enabled |
| Motion | Motion (motion/react) & GSAP | High-fidelity UI animations and transitions |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS 3 | Copper design tokens + utility layout |
This project is optimized for deployment on Vercel or similar platforms.
The build command in package.json includes critical steps for Payload 3.x:
- Database Migrations:
pnpm run payload migrateruns automatically to sync the database schema. - Import Map Generation:
pnpm run generate:importmapcreates the component mappings required for the Admin Panel. - Next.js Build: Standard
next buildfor the application.
Every variable is documented in .env.example. Locally you
need two: DATABASE_URL and PAYLOAD_SECRET. Production additionally sets
USE_S3_STORAGE=true with the S3_* values, NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL,
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_MEDIA_URL, and the Google service-account variables for
the Sheets, Drive and certificate integrations.
Values are never hardcoded as defaults or fallbacks, not even non-secret ones. If something is missing in an environment, set it there.
You need Node 20.9+, pnpm 9 or 10, and a Postgres database of your own - a free Neon project or Postgres in Docker. You do not need the club's production database, and you should not use it.
git clone https://github.com/Embed-Club/embedclub.git
cd embedclub
pnpm install
cp .env.example .env # fill in DATABASE_URL and PAYLOAD_SECRET
pnpm payload migrate # build the schema
pnpm seed:demo # fill it with demo content
pnpm create:admin # first admin account, from BACKUP_ADMIN_* in .env
pnpm dev # http://localhost:3000 (admin at /admin)Full instructions, the content model, deployment and troubleshooting live in docs/SETUP.md.
pnpm seed:demo gives you a site with something on every page. It is invented
content - no real member, photo or contact detail - and its images are drawn at
seed time rather than committed.
It is deliberately awkward, because a layout that has only seen tidy content hides its bugs. It covers both branches of every conditional field (events online and in person, resources written here and linked elsewhere), titles that wrap four times beside two-word ones, a description sitting exactly on the 200-character card limit, an unbroken 70-character token, and images from ultra-wide to tall portrait.
If a page looks wrong after seeding, that is usually the point. Fix the layout rather than softening the demo data. Re-running the seed is safe - it updates documents in place instead of duplicating them.
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
pnpm dev |
dev server at :3000, admin at /admin |
pnpm verify |
biome + typecheck + integration tests - run before every commit |
pnpm verify:full |
verify + production build + Playwright e2e - run before merging |
pnpm generate:types |
regenerate Payload types after a collection or global changes |
pnpm seed:demo |
fill an empty database with demo content |
pnpm create:admin |
create the first admin user - there is no sign-up screen |
pnpm payload migrate |
apply migrations in src/migrations/ |
Anyone in the club can work on this site, and you do not need production access to start. CONTRIBUTING.md has the whole thing: setting up, what reviewers look for, how schema changes work, and where in the tree to find the thing you want to change.
The short version:
- Read AGENTS.md - design language, naming, hard rules. It applies to humans and to any AI coding assistant you use.
- Branch from
main:git checkout -b feat/short-description pnpm verifybefore every commit,pnpm verify:fullbefore the PR.- Never push straight to
main- it auto-deploys and migrates production.
Source code is MIT, see LICENSE. The Embed Club logo, wordmark and banner are excluded and remain the club's - replace them with your own before publishing anything built on this code. Bundled fonts keep their own licences.
Built with ❤️ by the Embed Club Engineering Team.