Irish start-up StudyBundles has signed a deal with University of Manchester to develop a wellbeing mobile app for its staff and students.
The Irish firm, which is based in IT Sligo’s Innovation Centre and also has an office in Manchester, is building the app on its CampusConnect app.
The new app will serve 40,000 students and 10,000 staff members, using advanced personalisation features, push notifications and geolocation to bring tailored information to users. It will deliver details of wellbeing events and activities on campus and in and around the local area, along with real-time information about what is happening close by.
"This is major validation for us as a young business and an opportunity to build on the success of our core product, CampusConnect," said Declan Sweeney, StudyBundles chief executive. " The fact that Dan and I are Manchester graduates makes this all the more pleasing and we're excited to get started."
Software
Founded last year by lecturers Mr Sweeney and Daniel Hinkley, and motion graphic designer John O'Hagan, StudyBundles has signed up a number of Irish third-level institutions for its CampusConnect software, which helps universities engage with prospective students and boost enrolments.
Among its clients are University of Limerick, Maynooth University and Letterkenny IT. It recently signed a new contract to provide the app at Limerick IT, and is in talks with several other UK and Irish institutions.
“After discussions with a number of potential providers, StudyBundles were chosen for this project as they demonstrated an instant understanding of how we wanted to work together on this development with student and staff needs at the heart of the project,” said Paul Govey, head of student communications and marketing at the University of Manchester.
“Their individual backgrounds in higher education, both as Manchester graduates and lecturers in the sector, ensured they really understood the objectives first rather than pushing a particular technical path.”
