uConnect App
An app to help first year university students meet and connect with other students
Overview
COVID-19-related campus closure has impacted nearly every aspect of the student experience. Students will need to be adapt to an online model or be suspended
We wanted to improve the online experience of meeting and developing stronger professional relationships with other first year students who share their same interests
This project has won the BrainStation & Ernst & Young Sprint Competition among 121 students
Timeline
3 day sprint
Role
- UX research
- Ideation
- Design direction
Tools
- Zoom
- Trello
- Slack
- Figma
The Problem
Adapting Online
Being fully online means that the usual student onboarding ceremonies, events, communities, and clubs will need to adapt online model or be suspended indefinetely.
Student Impact
Impacted the most are first-year students, who are at risk of not feeling immersed in the campus experience or a part of a larger student community, resulting in loneliness, depression, and other mental health issues.
After some quick research we set our Goal
HMW help students connect over shared interests so that they can create stronger personal relationships that will also benefit them in their professional development
Undertanding the Impact
- Students don’t enjoying meeting others through video chats
- This affects their experience
- They rather stay local then come to Canada for school
Why was this a big problem?
Because the financial impact international students have in Canada
Research Findings
Major Economy Contributors
Research from the canadian government estimates that they contribute over $22 billion to the country’s economy every year
Job Cuts in Universities
Schools are expecting a steep drop in international student enrolment for the 2020-21 school year, leaving gaping holes in budgets and forcing job cuts
International Students are Essential
Retaining these students is essential, and so we have based this project around international students but all students would be welcome to use the app
Interviews
We had a few assumtions on how students felt. Therefore we needed examine our assumptions and listen to the students to discover their true pain points, motivations and behaviours.
Following our interviews we were able to gather various insights about how they interact with classmates and their adaptation to digital learning, we have learned the following:
Pain Points
Everyone Is Watching
According to our research, meeting people through online classrooms felt too formal. Every time they talked they felt like if they where in front of a classroom.
No Escape
One on one chats with a new person made the students feel nervious and uneasy as if they couldn’t just step aside if they felt like leaving
Self Doubt When Texting
Self doubt was something that affected students when interacting due to overthinking.
Behaviours
Lost Micro-Interactions
Students meet many people during micro-interactions such as (breaks from class, small convos) but these are less common through digital learning.
No icebreakers
Various students where not fans of online icebreakers, but they liked what came out of them
Common Interests
Most students said they met friends through commun interests or commun people
Motivations
Understanding
Most students follow up after class on a messanger platform to ask questions about homework to either the teacher or other classmates
More Opportunities
Canada had more opportunities for future work in their chosen field of study then in their original Country
Better Reputation
International schools have better reputaion then their own Universities back home
Meet Kevin Young
Personality: Outgoing, loves sports and the outdoors
Occupation: 18 years old
From: Poland
Meeting new people now is awkward
"I want to meet new people but video calls are ackward"
Story
Kevin’s first couple days of University were very exciting, but that wore off quickly as all of his classes were online. After a few weeks he was feeling tired, lonely and unmotivated. He didn’t want to attend classes and was missing his friends and his family
Goals
- To have a great University Experience
- Make new friends
- Have a great new career
Opportunities
1. Allow him to meet other students online with ease
2. Help him stay connected and motivated through out his program.
3. Eliminate barriers to meet others and feel accepted
What if students could post school and non-school invites to activities they want to do?
For Kevin we wanted to re-create the way he would meeet other students
He would frist see various cards of people posting their own invites, he could quickly sort thorugh the activities he was interested on and choose who he wanted to connect and meet.
Once he feels comfortable he could post his own invite.
User Story
- Student gets an acceptance letter
- Arrives in Canada
- Bored and lonely
- Remembers the app in his acceptance letter
- Dowloads it
- Finds people and activities he can join with similar interests
- He gets a welcome group message
- Sees the details of the activity
- He is excited and ready to meet the group
Ideation
We all brainstormed on possible ways we could sketch our story
Flow
Agreed on a flow
Switching Direction
To a card base interface with less barriers of entry
Why? Our Probelms:
- Too many barriers before the user finds what they are looking for
- Onboarding process is too long
- Too many questions
- Not exciting or fun
Welcome
Card Invites
Filter
By Activities
Join
Start Chat
Welcome
Card Invites
Sort
By Activities
Join
Start Chat
uConnect App Demo
In this product demo you can see Kevin reading other student invites and choosing an activity he wants to be a part of. Immediately after sending his request to join he is welcomed into the activity page, and he is ready to start meeting other students with similar interest.
