COVID-19 has radically transformed the university experience with the shift to remote classes. Many college students have decided to postpone their undergraduate studies; many of them will never enroll. Others are on contemplating whether to drop out or not. This not only presents a challenge for the colleges but also for society in general as those with just a high school diploma are expected to learn ~£1M less on average than those with their bachelors over the course of their lifetimes. Purlos is a personalized engagement platform built on Salesforce that helps academic institutions retain students by engaging and communicating with them in the channels that students are already actively using. The platform works to address the concerns of potential students during the admissions and enrollment process. The company’s digital assistant, Jenni, provides support through its AI-powered chat and for issues that cannot be addressed, the platform will escalate issues directly to administration. For the institutions, they are provided with a robust data analytics console that identifies the students that are most likely at-risk to drop out. London TechWatch caught up with CEO David Bartlett to learn more about the challenges facing higher educational institutions, the company’s traction, future plans, and much, much more.
Education
Bodyswaps Raises £470K for its VR Platform That Develops Soft Skills in the Workplace
Soft skills don’t come naturally to everyone, so companies like Bodyswaps are using AI, VR, and behavioral science to develop immersive modules for soft skills training. Through unscripted intervention that places users in realistic workplace situations, Bodyswaps’ platform helps to improve soft skills such as emotional intelligence, empathy, and leadership to complement workforce training programs. LondonTechWatch caught up with Cofounder and COO Julien Denoel to learn more about the unique benefits of using VR for workforce training, the company’s experience raising in the middle of the pandemic, and recent funding round, which brings the company’s total funding raised to £795K.
BibliU Raises $10M for its Accessible E-Library of Textbooks for College Students
Textbooks are becoming obsolete and BibliU is one of the reasons why. The London startup, cofounded by CEO David Sherwood also makes content more accessible for college students; saving them 50-75%, while unlocking new technology-driven ways to learn.
Paperclip Raised £750K for its Student Marketplace Serving Universities Across the UK
Traditionally, university students have been stuck using platforms like Facebook, ebay, Craiglist, or letgo to sell items that range from textbooks to mini-fridges. However, these platforms aren’t exclusively for students. Paperclip offers a safe, student marketplace that enables thousands of students to buy, sell, and swap items on campus. Paperclip is already partnered with 40 UK […]
Scoodle Raises $760K to Enable Tutors to Build Influencer Followings
Tutors are academic lifeboats, but they often come with a steep price tag and aren’t accessible to most people. Scoodle, the online, education platform, connects students with the most qualified tutors based on students’ questions. Scoodle doesn’t take a commission from tutoring sessions and is available as a subscription service. Students can also download the […]
Perlego Raises £7M to be the Spotify of the Textbook Industry
Heavy, large, expensive, and often times – required, textbooks probably cause students more headaches and troubles than any other school material. The average cost of books for a full-time student is skyrocketing and this three-year-old London startup is tackling this head-on. Perlego is the subscription-based digital learning platform that has over 300,00 textbooks and professional […]
Blackbullion Raises Another £400K To Be the Go To Financial Literacy Platform For Young Adults
“Tech for good” is a phrase that is not entirely common to hear but Blackbullion is a fintech education startup that fully embodies that notion. The educational platform, launched by a financial management expert, partners with leading UK universities like King’s College and the University of Edinburgh to teach young people about finance at crucial […]
This London Startup Raised £900k To Use VR to Enhance Surgical Training
Almost everyone has played Operation at one point in their life, and everyone can remember the focus and patience they applied when using the tweezers to pull out an ailment from Cavity Sam. Real doctors don’t practice using Hasbro’s Operation; they use FundamentalVR, the latest medical training device that uses VR and haptic touch to […]
This London Startup Just Raised £1.3M to Empower You Through Financial Literacy
Saving money looks different for everyone. Regardless of your preferences to accomplish your personal financial goals, your financial planning app needs to be on same page as you and understand your goals and objectives. Thankfully, Oval Money accomplishes just this. The company’s app teaches financial literacy and empowers users to define their own rules for […]
Survival Tips for Edtech Startups
You’re confident that your education technology product is going to support student learning and success in the K-12 sector. You’ve assembled your team, and your engineers are ready to go to work. The market research tells you that with the right investment to back your launch and a good dose of sweat equity, your business […]