Two NUI Galway students and an NUI Galway staff member have been invited to Las Vegas to share their EXPLORE project, ‘NUI Galway Mobile App’, which won the Best Presentation Award at the Blackboard European Teaching and Learning Conference in Dublin last week.

The ‘NUI Galway Mobile App’ is being developed by Fionn Delahunty, a first year psychology student and Darren Kelly, a first year Biomedical Science student, both in NUI Galway and both from Salthill, Galway City. Fionn and Darren originally decided to make an app which would enhance the first year experience and this project was a fit for the EXPLORE campus innovation initiative.  

Speaking about the app, Fionn said: “We soon realised that an app with just a few key functions and without a major cost was the solution and it had to be made with staff and student collaboration. We came across Mosaic by Blackboard which seemed like a perfect platform, allowing us to spend time gathering information with the knowledge that all we had to do is bring it back and plug it in for a functioning app. We approached and received an enthusiastic response from Dr Sharon Flynn, Assistant Director with CELT, NUI Galway, as well as Zara Sheerin and John Caulfield in the Marketing and Communications Office. Then the ‘NUI Galway Mobile App’ journey began.”

The NUI Galway Mobile App features campus maps, tours, student mail and much more. The app responded to a campus need desired by many students, whilst using the skills and experience available around the University to produce an app that is useful to almost everyone on campus. 

Dr Sharon Flynn, Assistant Director with CELT, NUI Galway, added: “The Student-As-Producer aspect to this project has been core to its success. This is an app designed by students for students, meeting their needs, based on their experience, and as staff members we're delighted to be in a position to facilitate that.”

As winners of the Best Presentation Award at the Blackboard European Teaching and Learning Conference, Dr Flynn, Fionn and Darren will now invited to present to a global audience at the Blackboard World conference in Las Vegas in July where they will be joined by over 2,500 education experts and practitioners. 

The NUI Galway Mobile App will be available mid-July from the Apple Store.

More information on the EXPLORE projects are available at http://www.su.nuigalway.ie/projects.

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