UCLan team secures four-figure boost to develop education technology

A University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) team has landed a four-figure boost to bring their education technology (edtech) ideas to market.

The UCLan students won the £5,000 prize at the recent Summer of Student Innovation competition, which called on teams to develop an idea that would solve big problems in the education sector.

After completing a four-day ‘design sprint’, 15 finalists went head to head and pitched their ideas before a panel of to judges.

Team UCLan came top with Survey Exchange, which allows students to find the answers needed for their surveys using a unique point system.

In addition to the cash prize, the winners will also get to bring their edtech concept to fruition in collaboration with Jisc, a provider of digital services for the education and research sectors.

Jisc’s deputy chief innovation officer, Andy McGregor, who was on the judging panel, said: “This year I was impressed by how the student teams had decided to take on big problems that students and the sector have faced for a long time, such as effective public engagement for research, testing via quizzes and effective induction.

“I was even more impressed that the solutions they were pursuing to these problems were so original.”

He continued: “As ever with the competition, the entrants were all outstanding and incredibly innovative.

“The competition really does show that students are best placed to address education sector issues, and their innovative ideas are perfect for supporting learning, teaching or research. We look forward to seeing where the ideas go in the future.”

Commenting on his team’s victory, UCLan student Jakub Zimola, the founder of Survey Exchange, said: “To win the Summer of Student Innovation is an amazing achievement for us.

“We are really excited about the next few months. Our project aim is bring more exposure to student surveys. We want to create a system that rewards researchers with increased visibility when they help to promote each other’s surveys and where reciprocity is rewarded.”

He added: “With the great network and experience that Jisc offers, we believe our cooperation will be the best way to take a next step in delivering a high quality platform for students and their research.”

The employability lead for the School of Language and Global Studies at UCLan, David Leeming, hailed Jakub as a “driven student that takes every opportunity he’s offered with extreme enthusiasm”.

He continued: “[Jakub] showed a keen interest in enterprise and this led him to become the clear winner in our ‘Pitch your Business Idea’ School Competition which was held in Pardubice, Czech Republic in conjunction with our partner institution.”

The 2016 Summer of Student Innovation was the event’s fourth installment. Managed by Jisc, the event is a co-design project with Research Libraries UK; Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association; Russell Universities’ Group of IT Directors; the Association for Learning Technology; and the Society of College, National and University Libraries.