Five years of StuComm: where are we?

On July 1, 2019, StuComm existed exactly five years. It all started in the student room of CEO Ronald Kouvelt. There, together with his partner William Viveen, they laid the foundations for the flourishing company that we now know. We would like to tell you more about how that went. And of course we take a look at where we are now with StuComm.

Where are we standing right now? The facts!

• Already 600,000 students use the Student App (They do that on average five times a day!)
• The Student App has grown from a timetable app facility to an app with more than 25 functionalities
• More than 25 educational institutions have already found their technology partner in StuComm
• The StuComm team won the Dutch App Award in 2019

This is how the idea for the Student App was born

The StuComm story begins in 2014 at the Le Journal café in Utrecht. Ronald and William heard a number of students complaining about the communication from their educational institution. They suffered from the same problem in their student days and went to investigate. “You had to log into all kinds of different systems every time and nothing was easily accessible via your telephone. It was really a drama, “says Ronald. Educational institutions struggled to reach the modern, mobile student. Ronald had some ideas about how it could be done. After a few pizza sessions with childhood friend William Viveen, the idea degenerated into the birth of StuComm and the Student App.

Better communication between student and educational institution

Initially, the Student App was aimed at improving communication for educational institutions towards the student. The information that you as a student now found in one app was previously spread across different systems. Never before has it been so easy to see information about grades, lecture times and study progress so quickly and easily. Simply with your cell phone.

The first customer to believe in young entrepreneurs

UtrechtInc gave Ronald and William a base for setting up StuComm completely. Ronald: “In the early first phase, everything can go wrong, but also everything goes well. That was a very cool period, during which UtrechtInc helped us well. There was also a direct link with Utrecht University, which became our first customer. ”The smile on his face betrays his pride. Ronald and William are no longer in the student room. The 25 employees are now located in a building on the front street in the heart of Utrecht.

From information app provision to personal assistant

The Student App has been transformed in five years. William: “In the beginning, we helped educational institutions make the transition from websites to apps. But the new Student App is actually more of a personal assistant”. “We soon noticed that there was a need to do more with the Student App. That is why we added functionalities that students can get inspiration from. And with which you as an educational institution realize an even greater involvement of and with your students, “explains Ronald. The PA aspect of the Student App comes back in different ways. For example, students receive information on the dashboard directly about issues such as their latest results, the upcoming lesson or useful study tips. In addition, the app goes much further than just displaying information: as a student you get more context from the information on your screen. For example, if you pass a pass, you will not only see the grade but also your resit opportunities immediately. And you immediately see who you can approach for more teaching material or guidance.

StuComm as a technology partner

StuComm has therefore created a personal assistant for the student. But the ambitions reach further. William and Ronald say that StuComm acts as a technology partner for educational institutions. Marcel Nollen from Inholland University of Applied Sciences, who has been using the Student App for a long time, confirms that image: “We have a real partnership with StuComm based on trust. A different kind of relationship than we have with other companies. StuComm thinks along with us in solutions. And if necessary, they can test new functionalities for the app with us. That works great: students are a lot happier with the provision of information and communication since StuComm has made an app for us. ”

StuComm has a proud team

The pride of Ronald and William can be found in the entire team. In five years, StuComm has succeeded in having about 6 out of 10 students in the Netherlands use the Student App. “We are particularly proud that we are now able to help so many students. We remove problems that we encountered ourselves in our student days, “says Ronald. He adds: “And we see winning the Dutch App Award 2019 as a sign that we are on the right track! On to the next five years! “