Digital savvy students offered £5k grants
2013 sees the launch of the Summer of Student Innovation pilot, to put the power to enhance the learner experience directly into the hands of teams of students, academics and experts across the UK.
Students who join the Summer of Innovation will get the chance to create real technology solutions and have the technology they create adopted by universities, colleges and learning providers. They will also have the option to join events where they can meet the other student teams as well as technical experts.
The Futures Forum, a group of five UK education and research organisations are joining forces to encourage teams of developers and innovators to use their skills to enhance the UK’s higher education experience.
Andrew McGregor, Jisc programme manager and Futures Forum member explains,
“We are offering £5,000 per student team, to develop new technology that could improve education, research and their studying life. The teams will be selected through an open call for ideas. Successful teams will also be given opportunities to join workshops to allow them to network with fellow students and experts to further their ideas.
“After the projects have run, the technology developed by the teams will be embedded for a trial period in volunteer education organisations. Products that are successful in the trials will be provided to other interested parties through sustainable routes.”
The Summer of Student Innovation has emerged from the pilot Jisc co-design programme. This programme has enabled Jisc, RLUK, RUGIT, SCONUL, and UCISA to work together to identify a selection of strategic innovations that could benefit the HE sector. The Summer of Student Innovation has been designed as an experiment to see if students can develop technology that can improve the student experience.
To enter your ideas and encourage your fellow students to vote for your suggestions visit the Summer of Student Innovation website or follow #studentideas on Twitter.