Design and development of a web application for a YKI test preparation

Abstract

Learning Finnish and preparing for the Finnish National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) test can be challenging due to the scattered resources and limited opportunities for interactive practice. This project develops YkiMate, a full-stack web application that connects students and teachers for structured preparation. The app covers all four YKI components: reading, writing, listening, and speaking and supports peer-to-peer practice and professional tutoring. The platform integrates user registration, secure authentication, and role-based access control, session scheduling, and dashboards. This web app is built using the MERN stack: MongoDB for data management, Express.js and Node.js for the backend, and React.js for the frontend. The system uses a layered backend architecture for authentication, booking management, and secure data storage. JWT tokens and password hashing ensure secure access, while the frontend provides a responsive interface with Material-UI, and React Context API manages application state. YkiMate demonstrates how modern web technologies can create a scalable, maintainable, and interactive educational platform. It supports session management, student-teacher collaboration, peer-to-peer practice sessions and lays the foundation for future enhancements such as payment integration, automated feedback, integrated real-time video conferencing and advanced analytics.