VPS for Academic Projects — Best Practices & Templates

Published Nov 12, 2025 • By Academic Teaching Services

A concise guide for lecturers and students on deploying coursework and research prototypes using VPS infrastructure, with templates and grading suggestions.

Overview

Virtual Private Servers (VPS) are a pragmatic option for hosting student work that requires online access — from web apps to monitoring dashboards. This guide provides templates, assessment ideas, and security reminders tailored for classroom use.

Quick Templates

LAMP starter
Traditionally useful for PHP/web coursework. Includes Apache, PHP, MySQL.
Node/Express
Template for Node.js apps with PM2 and reverse proxy setup.
Data stack
Python, Pandas, JupyterLab (secured with proxy) for data projects.

Assessment & Reproducibility

Require students to submit a Git repository containing: deployment scripts, README with environment variables, and a short video demo (2–3 mins). This ensures reproducibility and makes grading straightforward.

Security checklist

  • Use SSH key auth; avoid password-based logins.
  • Enable minimal firewall rules and limit open ports.
  • Snapshot or export final work before tearing down instances.

For student-friendly hosting and trial offers, consider tested providers — for example, GratisVPS offers tiers useful for coursework and prototyping.

How to use templates (short workflow)

  1. Instructor prepares an image & short README
  2. Students fork starter repo & follow deploy script
  3. Students submit repo + demo link; instructor verifies live demo
Academic Teaching Services
Academic Teaching Services
Support team for curriculum design & technical teaching resources