Welcome to the sixth episode of the Elevator Pitch series 4.
Every week we publish a 30 second pitch from the latest intake of the Elevator Pitch. These leading startups join an alumni group that includes the likes of YPlan, Hassle, import.io and Glow, and has to-date raised over $36m.
In this series we took the founders on a cab ride unlike any other for the most exciting pitch of their lives.
Inside and outside the classroom, technology has revolutionised the way people learn.
For many of us, it would have started with fancy WordArt in PowerPoint presentations, but now edtech is much, much more.
Better collaboration
Despite all the advancements in educational technology, Michael Willmott still felt there was a gap technology wasn’t fixing.
Stuck on a piece of work at 1am, he realised there was no decent way to reach out into his network of peers, or even a broader network of people studying in his field. The idea behind Knodium grew from there.
Knodium allows anyone at university to create and join communities based on their courses, project work, study groups or even just common interests.
It’s a simple, uncluttered way to have discussions, share documents and resources and engage with others.
I realised that the way students engage with and learn from each other is moving increasingly online, yet there is an incredibly fragmented experience between the online part of a student’s education and the offline part.
Knodium’s powerful tools
Knodium has built-in tools that it believes makes the learning experience for students as effortless as possible.
Users can write complicated mathematical equations with LaTeX or even draw otherwise difficult-to-communicate chemical diagrams.
How universities benefit
The service isn’t just useful for those studying. Universities can use Knodium to gain important insights into their students – insights that previously would have been inaccessible.
Knodium started with fairly quiet trials in mid-2012 and opened up to universities across the UK in September 2013.
Willmott says the next stage for the startup is building its team and working with more universities.
One of our main aims is to support and push for big growth within our existing network of 120 universities.
We want to build something that becomes a staple part of the education experience for many students by the end of this academic year.