Start-up teams up with Microsoft for students
ANEWPORT start-up education technology company, formed by a team of graduates from the Alacrity Foundation, has been boosted after being invited to partner its learning engagement online platform with Microsoft.
Learnium, one of the first companies to have incorporated from the Alacrity Foundation after its founders and team of graduates successfully came through its entrepreneurship programme last year, will now see its technology integrated with Microsoft Online Office.
Both companies have now made their combined product available for free to more than four million students in the UK.
Learnium is an online platform that helps students connect with other students and also their university and college teaching staff.
Users can seek answers, share knowledge and interests, revise together and even find out what’s happening on campus.
Teachers can also use the platform and upgrade their accounts with paid-for premium features for advanced class management and course delivery.
The integration with Microsoft enables all users on Learnium to also create and collaborate on documents seamlessly from anywhere, anytime and on any device.
Every UK higher and further education student can now sign up to Learnium for free, by visiting the company’s website.
Learnium chief executive Robert Dagan said: “Our collaboration with Microsoft reinforces our strategic focus on improving the educational experience.
“Students will benefit from the ability to share ideas and knowledge and collaborate on documents in Learnium.
“It’s been an exciting year for us. In April we secured seed funding and have now opened up the platform to all UK higher and further education institutions. The response from student unions, universities and colleges has confirmed the positive impact Learnium is having on students.”
Microsoft is a global leader in both software and hardware solutions and services.
Office Online is Microsoft’s suite of productivity apps that allow users to create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from any webbrowser.
It has a drive to improve education worldwide through its office apps and all other products.
Learnium joins an innovative band of educational technology companies that have incorporated the Office Online suite within their offerings.
Mark Stewart, UK education partner lead at Microsoft, said: “Learnium provides an exciting, new platform for students to learn, communicate and collaborate online.
“With the integration of Office Online, students will be able to work whenever and wherever they want, directly from their web-browsers and mobile devices.”
Learnium’s investors include Wesley Clover Corporation, The Welsh Government and two of the founders of Admiral, David Stevens and Andrew Probert.