Collabco technology provides gateway to resources for students around the world

Myday, created by Liverpool digital specialist Collabco, has been implemented by Heriot-Watt University to deliver a truly international digital campus for its students, both at home in Scotland and internationally in Dubai and Malaysia.

It provides the gateway to delivering resources like timetables, access to the virtual learning environment, printing and library services, transport timetables and even the menus of on campus eateries, straight to students’ smartphones.

The university has 30,000 students and five main campuses, three in Scotland and two abroad, is the largest international university in Dubai, and has a large distance learning population.

“We launched Myday globally at the start of this academic year, and it’s making such a difference because for the first time we have an easy way to communicate to students, tailoring that communication based upon identity and location,” explained Paul Travill, academic registrar at Heriot-Watt University and who is leading the systems’ revitalisation project for the university.

“Heriot-Watt students are able to study part of their programme at a different campus as part of our Go Global offer.

“Myday makes the communication much easier, it simplifies the orientation process for students, the look and feel of the portal is the same globally, but because we can now communicate by campus, by type of student, and by school, we can point the student to the relevant services and information for that campus rather than hunting through reams of pages on the web – a much better student experience for them.”

He added: “The university is keen to see how the new digital campus environment helps student retention rates – simply by making students’ lives much easier by providing access to everything they need via one system and one device.

“We are continuing to listen to the needs of our students and are planning the next student support services to appear on their dashboards based on student experience and need, to help build the Heriot-Watt communities on each campus.”

Matt Dunkin, managing director of Liverpool Science Park-based Collabco, said: “The digital campus is as important as the physical one – but accessing it with so many systems that must ‘talk’ to each other can seem unimaginably difficult.

“Myday delivers a simple way to bring the university’s systems and resources together via one technology and deliver it to their smartphone based on the identity of the student and their needs.”

He said: “It’s great to see how we can help a truly international campus via the digital campus.”