Swinburne graduate creates app to help students get organised
In Summary
Swinburne University of Technology graduate Stephen Hadanich spent 2013 completing his Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Business course while developing My UNIverse – an application designed to help his classmates organise their studies.
My UNIverse keeps students on top of their academic life by tracking homework, grades and timetables, all in one place. The app was made available on iTunes this month and made it to number 7 for education downloads in its first week.
“I decided to create the app as it was relevant to me and I felt it would be useful to other students,” said Stephen.
To help prepare him for the popular world of app development, Stephen chose to study elective units that he could apply to My UNIverse.
“I found Intellectual Property Law to be extremely helpful as I could apply it straight to the development of my app.”
Stephen’s Lecturer in Law, Dr Amanda Scardamaglia, guided him through relevant issues he was facing in developing the app.
“Not only is this a great achievement for Stephen, who developed the app independently, it is also an indication of the type of entrepreneurial graduate Swinburne is producing. Stephen has been able to identify a gap in the market and develop a tool that will be invaluable to students, especially as they approach the start of semester,” said Dr Scardamaglia.
The most useful advice Stephen received as he faced the challenges of creating My UNIverse was that persistence beats resistance.
“I was constantly faced with little challenges but I just kept plugging away and I’m glad I did – it was a great relief to see it finally make the iTunes store,” said Stephen.
Stephen is currently employed in a graduate role at a Melbourne engineering firm, but outside of this role he plans to continue to build on his app.
“This launch is only phase one, there is still much more to come for My UNIverse and I hope that many students will find the app helpful with their upcoming studies.”