Swinburne U’s student union is piloting an interactive platform

By DIRK MULDER

The union is partnering with peer-to-peer provider, Jumbea, which says it, “replaces emails and notice boards with an intuitive platform designed to encourage interaction and student engagement.”

The pilot’s goal is to create a private community for Swinburne students to meet on-line and make the most of their university experience, in the absence of in-person campus contacts. With Melbourne locked-down again the timing is terrific to provide students with their own interface to make and keep friends.

Jumbea and the union are looking to the pilot to also identify student needs during the COVID crisis and suggest solutions that can be delivered on-line.

This is smart stuff. Peer to peer contact is not high on the student support agenda at most Australia universities and colleges but it meets more needs than UG community creating.

For example, it can create a channel for prospective students to check-out what existing undergraduates think about a campus.  And it allows alumni to network.

Dirk Mulder is CMM’s international correspondent