The last blog!! In the past few weeks our projects have taken on more and more life as we developed more and more aspects. So now without further ado, I proudly present to you:
Uniki
The Key to your Uni Life
I've got a vision.
Of a community.
Universities united as one.
One social web that disregards the boundaries of location, of ethnicity, of age and experience.
A web that nurtures. That provides opportunities.
That shatters the wall of disconnection that is still so ingrained in our world of hyper-connection, bringing Uni students within universities closer and creating spaces for connection that otherwise would have flown under the radar.
Uniki is a platform that creates a social and study focused community of university students. By using their unique skills, gifts and interests, we can create the social and professional opportunities needed to get them where they dream of being.
Who are we and who are we for?
At Uniki we believe fully in the power of collaboration to achieve dreams. We are for the open minded, the ones who want to independently get more from their lives and maximize their experiences here in this awesome stage of their lives. We are for the students with a dream and a little secret being nurtured and grown- not necessarily related to just university work but in any area of their life.
Our Values and beliefs
A stranger is just a friend you haven't met
Saying 'Yes' is the key to growing
We are open minded
We are willing to challenge the status quo
Collaboration is king
What Actually is Uniki?
Uniki is a technology platform that acts as a central platform for university students in connection to their universities- similar to what Moodle and Canvas do. The platform is split into three sections from the students point of view.
University
Students will be able to log into a university account/ page where they can see which classes they are enrolled in, who is in their class, which other people have done that class previously. All the course content and lectures will also be available. There can be group chat or page options for each class/ lecture unit for people to discuss and ask questions as well as a Direct Messaging feature. For example, there could be an Accounting Year 1 Page, or a Foundations of Marketing Page with subsections showing the current classes and the option for a group chat/ page for the individual classes or one for the whole of Foundations of Marketing with everyone in it. They can see all their assessments and have access to communication with teachers.
The students can see the profiles of other students in universities around them or on the system. There will be a direct messaging feature, or students can connect through their linked social media. Pretty much it is the hub for all of their university activities.
Social
This section allows students to see the profiles of other students both at their university and at universities around them, and provides the opportunity to connect people with similar interests/ hobbies/ activities. Students can create private or public events and meet-ups in their areas, for other students from their university or any nearby uni.
Each student creates a personal account when they enroll in the university., with personal interests, skills, examples of past work/ achievements, their university - they can link Instagram/ LinkedIn/ Facebook which the platform will draw information from e.g. past experience, photos. This portfolio of past work, information, can allow people seeking specific types of people to connect. For example if there is a musician seeking a producer, they can search around for someone that appears to meet what they are looking for.
Opportunities
The third and last section provides businesses and organisations the opportunity to list job, volunteer or internship opportunities to students in an easy to access manner, sort of like Seek but specifically for students. The students can personalise which types of opportunities they see to provide relevant content. Likewise, the students themselves can list opportunities for partnerships or people that they need for a project or to start a band for example- pretty much anything.
My technology is aiming to mix networking and social connection into one application aimed specifically at university students. It isn't really networking in the professional sense- instead aimed at identifying opportunities for social connection or connection in interests in the immediate environment around students. It'll be creative, fun and easy to use.
How am I going to make money?
Selling the platform to universities to use
Job/ internship advertising space within the platform
Basic Marketing Information
I will mainly be promoting my platform to the students through the university channels such as email, paid Facebook advertising and Instagram. Uniki will have flyers that it puts up around campuses and popular student hangouts, advertising the platform and its unique aspects that students may not know about. I will advertise on LinkedIn and other places where the professionals and higher powers inside universities will be able to see my product and be introduced to it, and power my marketing with SEO and SEM services.
Before the product is launched I'll create awareness through social media channels, an email list, a website, and video content. Once the platform is launched, I'll seek out interviews and reviews from users and reviewers to create positive press to use when pitching to further clients. I'll also hold demonstration sessions and free trials to truly show university coordinators why Uniki is a superior platform.
I'll create an emailing list to promote the platform, news and developments, and I will need to organise meetings with university organisers to pitch the implementation of the platform. The way Uniki is developing, the primary target audience would be the people in the universities who make the large decisions rather than the students, though I would use student feedback in my pitch to them to persuade them of the benefits of this platform. As such, advertising to students on Instagram and such social sites is a secondary priority. I'll conduct market research to see which platforms are best to advertise to professionals, lecturers and university employees.
Detailed Marketing Strategy
Prior to launch
Before the product is launched, I'll create awareness through social media channels, an email list, a website, and video content.
Social media campaign on LinkedIn (for the professionals/ uni directors), FB (<- as well and Uni students) and Insta- for students and to raise awareness
Website with SEO, google Adwords, SEM
Email list e.g. with MailChimp
Press from Universities to their students and from reviewers/ industry sources to the universities
Go to industry events, tech expos, pitch nights, meeting with uni directors to build up personal relationships and raise awareness in the industry
Stalls at Uni events
Created a blog that shows how to do Uni- tips
Begin to put posters and flyers around- Universities, student hotspots etc
Possibly some guerrilla tactics as well like streetart, art installations around universities and public places
Launch
Email campaign
Website with Google AdWords and SEO and SEM running with the social pages
Facebook ads, Instagram campaign and LinkedIn campaign
Launch on the blog
Flyers around Uni’s, Uni student hotspots and neighbourhoods where Uni students live
Press releases from media sources in the industry, get people who run university blogs to write about it if they liked it e.g. The Good University Guide, Save The Student Org, Studies In Australia.com, Go Study Australia and International Student Identity Card Australia
After Launch
Once the platform is launched, we will seek out interviews and reviews from users and reviewers to create positive press to use when pitching to further clients. I'll also hold demonstration sessions and free trials to truly show university coordinators why Uniki is a superior platform.
Keep the social media pages going with updates etc
Keep an email list going with updates, news
Website with SEO and SEM
Keep on building personal relationships with clients and potential clients- meetings, check ins
Sponsor university sport teams, academic projects and various endeavours
Some of the marketing will be seasonal, such as:
Winter/ summer deals for University students
Following the University calendar for the types of marketing- marketing to students when they are actually at University or coming into University semesters
During holidays, the marketing will focus on the benefits of being a university student in regards to deals and specials.
Facebook ads- videos, direct news updates
Same on LinkedIn
Instagram showing the day to day work of the company, showcasing brilliant things its created with feature stories, showing the behind the scenes of the company
Email for news, updates, new opportunities- is good because its cost effective, still a great source of communication, can lead to retention and new leads
Financial Plan
It was difficult to develop a rough estimate of how much the platform will actually cost to build but I created an app on estimatemyapp.com that had roughly similar characteristics and its price for development was $124,631. There is no doubt that Uniki will be a lot more expensive as it is a central platform rather than just an app, but I will need to consult with further developers to get a more appropriate figure. As for funding, the use of investors and partners will be essential to getting the platform up and running.
Partnerships required
Uniki will definitely need a range of partnerships if it is to be established. These range from investors to customers to possible marketing agencies. A list of the main partnerships is below.
Angel Investors: money for platform creation, development, prototyping and marketing
Universities: lecturers, teachers, heads of departments/ student management and executives to come on board with the platform
Businesses: local and national organisations
Local restaurants, cafes and other venues and shops that are willing to offer student discounts.
Funding
Going to be used to actually create and develop the platform and some marketing
Angel funding sourced from going to pitch nights, tech expos and networking events
Crowdfunding
Business loans from the bank
Alright guys, thats it!!
Thank you for joining me on this wild ride from start to finish, a wild ride that may only just be getting started. Thank you for reading all this way and supporting the project!! :))
Misha
Something Small
A feeling of completion
Typing out the last letters and words
So much energy and concentration
Flowing into the tiny pixels
Transferring screen to screen
Through our technological maze
To come to be absorbed by you,
the reader
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