diff --git a/TechNexusHub/pom.xml b/TechNexusHub/pom.xml
index 139a797..ab0614d 100644
--- a/TechNexusHub/pom.xml
+++ b/TechNexusHub/pom.xml
@@ -26,79 +26,94 @@
 		<tag/>
 		<url/>
 	</scm>
-	<properties>
-		<java.version>17</java.version>
-	</properties>
-	<dependencies>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
-		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
-		</dependency>
-
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-			<artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
-			<scope>runtime</scope>
-			<optional>true</optional>
-		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>com.mysql</groupId>
-			<artifactId>mysql-connector-j</artifactId>
-			<scope>runtime</scope>
-		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.projectlombok</groupId>
-			<artifactId>lombok</artifactId>
-			<optional>true</optional>
-		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
-			<scope>test</scope>
-		</dependency>
-
-
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.modelmapper</groupId>
-			<artifactId>modelmapper</artifactId>
-			<version>3.0.0</version>
-		</dependency>
-
-		<!-- https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/org.springframework.boot/spring-boot-starter-validation -->
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-validation</artifactId>
-
-		</dependency>
-
-
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
-			<artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
-		</dependency>
-
-
-	</dependencies>
-
-	<build>
-		<plugins>
-			<plugin>
-				<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-				<artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-				<configuration>
-					<excludes>
-						<exclude>
-							<groupId>org.projectlombok</groupId>
-							<artifactId>lombok</artifactId>
-						</exclude>
-					</excludes>
-				</configuration>
-			</plugin>
-		</plugins>
-	</build>
+    <properties>
+        <java.version>21</java.version>
+    </properties>
+
+    <dependencies>
+
+        <!-- Spring Boot Starters -->
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
+            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
+        </dependency>
+
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
+            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
+        </dependency>
+
+        <!-- DevTools -->
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
+            <artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
+            <scope>runtime</scope>
+            <optional>true</optional>
+        </dependency>
+
+        <!-- MySQL -->
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>com.mysql</groupId>
+            <artifactId>mysql-connector-j</artifactId>
+            <scope>runtime</scope>
+        </dependency>
+
+        <!-- Lombok (IMPORTANT: Specify Version) -->
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.projectlombok</groupId>
+            <artifactId>lombok</artifactId>
+            <version>1.18.32</version>
+            <scope>provided</scope>
+        </dependency>
+
+        <!-- Validation -->
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
+            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-validation</artifactId>
+        </dependency>
+
+        <!-- ModelMapper -->
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.modelmapper</groupId>
+            <artifactId>modelmapper</artifactId>
+            <version>3.2.0</version>
+        </dependency>
+
+        <!-- Jackson -->
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
+            <artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
+        </dependency>
+
+        <!-- Test -->
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
+            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
+            <scope>test</scope>
+        </dependency>
+
+    </dependencies>
+
+    <build>
+        <plugins>
+
+            <!-- Compiler Plugin Explicitly Set to Java 21 -->
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+                <version>3.13.0</version>
+                <configuration>
+                    <release>21</release>
+                </configuration>
+            </plugin>
+
+            <!-- Spring Boot Plugin -->
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
+                <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+            </plugin>
+
+        </plugins>
+    </build>
 
 </project>