Five businesses have been selected for mentorships worth up to £10,000 this week after successful pitches at our showcase edtech event, Digifest.

The successful bidders presented ideas which have the potential to go on to improve, evolve and change UK education and research.

Selected by a panel of judges from Jisc and Emerge Education, the winners are:

Connect2Teach Limited

Designed as a unique knowledge network, the Connect2Teach Limited project connects industry experts to online course providers to develop and deliver relevant courses and increase student enrolment, engagement and employability.

miFuture App

The miFuture App provides better way of connecting school leavers with the world of work, offering them personalised career options in a format that tech-savvy young people are familiar with.

Scholarcy

Scholarcy employs machine learning in an app that can digest any research paper, book chapter or report and create a summary flashcard that can be read on any device, instantly providing background reading, key facts and findings.

StudyBundles (trading as CampusConnect)

Connecting students with fellow applicants and student ambassadors prior to enrolment, this mobile app service helps to improve pre-arrival engagement and boost offer-enrolment conversion rates.

Virti

A medical training platform, Virti uses virtual and augmented reality to transport users into realistic, hard-to-access environments and safely assesses them under pressure to improve performance.

The mentorships offered by Jisc, Emerge Education and other industry experts include the possibility of up to £5,000 funding, with additional focused support worth up to £5,000. 

Nic Newman, of Emerge Education, said:

“This year’s entries have showed very welcome variety and have included tools for mental health, tools for researchers and tools for students to select the right university.

“Apart from the variety, we’ve seen very high skills in presentation, and, more importantly, people talking about the impact that their ideas could create.

“The judges’ decisions are based on this potential impact and on how much Jisc and the programme could help and develop them.”

Sue Attewell, head of change – further education (FE) and skills, Jisc added:

“We’re really looking forward to working with the five winners over the next six months, supporting them to develop their product and business model to ensure a good fit with our members’ needs.

“It will be hard work for the winners, but is sure to accelerate their readiness for market.”