Member Article

School social network Studently.com launches to help guide students through education and career choices

Schools network Studently.com launches today with the aim of supporting secondary school children with further education and careers information, helping guide them on a path to their future. With 50,000 beta users already on board, Studently.com is the latest product from the team at Unii.com, a private social platform for students in higher education.

“Unii’s vision is to create a complete ecosystem of student-focused social products and services, giving young people aged 13-25 everything they need to support them through their journey through secondary school, into further education and beyond,” commented CEO and founder Marco Nardone. “The launch of Studently.com is a critical step in fulfilling our goal, and tackles a real gap in the market, with teenagers crying out for more information and support at this critical stage in their education.”

Starting with the My DNA quiz, Studently enables secondary school pupils to uncover more about their likes, dislikes, fears and aspirations and how their personality might be suited to different types of learning and careers. This data is then matched with relevant courses available at UK universities in order to offer the user a thorough overview of the sort of options open to them.

The site holds specific course information for every university in one place and those who sign up can search by course, institution and location. There is even the ability to find out where mates are heading off to and chat with other like minded students considering the same options via the in built fully moderated, social network facility. According to research from Studently.com, secondary school students are not receiving the right support to make critical career decisions, with a lack of guidance at school and pressure from parents causing 91% to be worried about their future. This is supported by an Ofsted report from 2013, which showed that three-quarters of schools are failing to provide adequate careers advice to students, following being made responsible by the government for doing so in 2012.

The survey, carried out among 1,550 secondary school students, reveals 61% are anxious about their career choice and unprepared for the future. Over two-thirds (69%) feel they are being pressurised into making big decisions, with 38% specifically feeling pressure to follow in the family footsteps in terms of career choice.

“With schools ill-equipped to guide pupils through the complex process of choosing a suitable career or further education option, it’s not surprising that students are feeling anxious and confused about their future,” said Emerson Osmond, COO of Unii, and former Head of Information and Advice at UCAS. “Studently aims to help allay teenagers’ concerns, opening their eyes to potential studies and careers, and connecting them with like-minded students around the country.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Studently .