New app aims to build student awareness and campus connection
Campusgrids, a new social engagement app targeted specifically at university and college students, has recently celebrated its national launch. The app, developed in Ottawa over the last few years, looks to connect users with clubs, groups, and other students in an effort to raise social campus engagement across Canada.
Students can sign up after downloading the app, entering in their basic information, as well as the name of their institution and their program of study. The app then prompts students to select from several options of personal interests, which allows the app to suggest social groups and clubs at the specific institution that would be of interest to the student.
The app also features a “Meet Students” page, which suggests connections between users who share interests and programs of study. According to Elias Fares, CEO and creator of Campus grids, “This has been the most popular feature so far, [as] it gives students a reason to engage and interact with one another.”
However, Campusgrids does more for students than just connect them to a more involved social life. The app also has features that allow students to keep their class work organized, aiming to help students find the equilibrium between the scholarly and the social.
“When students add their class on Campusgrids, they will then be able to see other classmates that have added the class, as well, and the classwork will automatically show up in their agenda so they don’t miss any important deadlines,” explained Fares. This allows students to both keep track of their studies and make important connections with classmates – potential study buddies and friends for life.
According to Fares, however, the app’s main focus is “to help increase student engagement at school and get more students involved on campus.”
“When I was an engineering undergrad at Carleton University, I felt like I was missing out on a lot of events and activities at school,” explained Fares. “With the course workload I was getting, it was hard for me to find a convenient way to discover what was going on outside of the engineering department. I started Campusgrids as a side project of mine and built it as a website at Carleton only. From the amount of interest the website gained, I quickly learned that other students were having the same issue. So, I approached my childhood friends with the idea and they all got on board with it.”
After the gain in popularity, Fares and his partners – Tedy Tadi, Ryan Elias, and Robbie Elias – took down the Campusgrids website and launched the now-available mobile application. Initially, the app was released to trial in Ottawa only, and after a successful test run and another year of development, the team has finally been able to release Campusgrids Canada-wide.
“For students that are new to [university], this would be a great tool for them to get involved and active in their school community,” concluded Fares. “Whether you want to meet fellow classmates or [you’re] interested in getting to know people outside of your department, you can use Campusgrids to bring your student experience to the next level.”