Universities Minister Chris Skidmore has announced the two winners of the Higher Education Open Data competition to create new digital tools for students.
Contracts worth £150,000 each have been awarded to AccessEd to develop a personalised careers assistant, and The Profs to create a game format for players to understand the consequences of their decisions through simulations of graduate career paths.
The projects have emerged as winners of the Open Data Competition, which was launched via Innovate UK’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) for companies to develop digital tools for prospective students to access and compare earnings and employment outcomes from different degrees.
Skidmore (pictured) said: “For young people choosing the best university and course for them is a life changing decision – and we want to make sure they get it right.
“Going to university can provide a wealth of opportunities and benefits for graduates, but we know that what you study and where you study really matters, so students need to see all of that information to get value for money.
“These new digital tools will help to give power back to students and transform their choices, so that no matter what their background they can choose the right course for them that will help them to succeed in their future careers.”
AccessEd is a social enterprise that will develop their ThinkUni app, offering students a personalised careers assistant by bringing together data on universities, courses and financial outcomes in a tailored and accessible way.
The Profs is a tuition company that will develop its digital tool, The Way Up, offering prospective students the chance to simulate a range of different graduate career paths through a digital game.
Image from GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
