Official UoR Student App launching this month

Student Services are excited to share news of a new digital product for our students - an official student app, which will be available in stores from March! 

Student Success and Engagement have been working with our colleagues in Digital Technology Services (DTS), student ambassadors and an app developer to produce a bespoke digital app catering for the needs of our students.

Students regularly tell us they are overwhelmed by the amount of information, opportunities, and digital locations they are expected to access to ensure they do not miss out on vital information. This app brings together digital services for students along with quick access to support advice and contact information. 

It's a crucial time to present students with this positive news and hopefully will promote an enhanced sense of belonging, and connection, and an additional route to keep informed despite our locations and current challenges. 

The app shows forthcoming scheduled lectures, timetabled events, latest news, their student and course details, as well as quick links to their student inboxes, RISIS and Blackboard. The app feeds content from our current news portal (Me@Reading Student), and information from the Essentials website, so there are no extra steps you as a staff member will be expected to take to ensure your news is  shared with the student community.  The app now gives us another vehicle to be able to connect swiftly and successfully with our students. 

The app will also be useful when face-to-face teaching recommences. By accessing the app's in-built maps, students will have on-the-go assistance with navigating their way around campus.  We hope to develop this service with in-building and accessibility information.  

We are planning an ongoing schedule of continuous development and customisation to ensure our app continues to meet the ever-changing needs and expectations of our students. The developers have an exciting roadmap of features and opportunities which will enable us to bring even more digital services to our students in the coming terms. 

How you can help

The app's launch campaign for students will take place in March and we will shortly be disseminating this news more widely across the University, so please look out for updates in In Brief and on the staff portal for more information, including how you can help promote the app and how you will be able to download the app as a staff member. 

Can't wait? Here is a tour of the student app in recent beta version (You Tube private video). 

We rely on your continued support to let us know when there are key messages and important news or events from your areas that we should be conveying to students. As always, you can do this by completing the relevant Me@Reading news and events content submission forms below:

• I wish to publicise an event to all students or those from a specific school: EVENTS form
• I have news to share with all students or those from a specific school: NEWS form

We are looking forward to representing every aspect of student life in the app and would love your involvement from representation in your area to contributing to future development.   If you have any questions, queries, or suggestions for the app, please contact studentcomms@reading.ac.uk.

Alternatively, you can sign up to join the app progress team and join other stakeholders and our digital ambassadors on our team's chat - Register your interest now (Microsoft Teams form).