With Modo, higher education institutions can transform student engagement by streamlining access to vital resources and information from one unified mobile app and portal solution. This will help students become more connected, informed, and successful at school.
To further our commitment to improving campus experiences, Modo hosts the SEED program, a six-week paid internship designed to inspire the next generation of mobile app innovators and prepare them for a career in tech.
SEED, short for Student Engagement Experience Dojo, rewards interns with an XModule certification upon completion. This certification not only gives them the knowledge and ability to implement hyper-personalized features but also empowers them to drive wider adoption of their university’s app. Additionally, it allows interns to use their student experience to ensure the app is current for their classmates.
Throughout the program, aspiring app creators have the rare opportunity to get real, hands-on experience and kickstart their careers at a company actively redefining digital experiences for colleges.
According to the 2022 State of the Student, there is a growing demand among students for their colleges to offer real, company-led projects that will equip them with relevant skills before entering the workplace. The study reports that 81 percent of students think it is important or very important for colleges to offer real company-led projects.
However, only 30 percent of instructors say that their schools offered these opportunities. The lack of these programs has led to lower rates of engagement among students. 55 percent of undergraduates have stated that they struggle to stay interested in their classes, while another 55 percent admit that it is difficult to retain all of their class material.
“Instructors are stressed and strained, across all modalities, and administrators need engaging content to attract and retain students. Since even the students themselves know they’re struggling, they want to see more real-world applications and tangible experiences related to potential careers to help them stay engaged in their courses.” (State of the Student, 2022)
Modo Labs’ SEED program aims to give students a chance to work alongside the Modo team and within the Modo platform to develop innovative mobile and desktop solutions to enhance life on campus. Students learn how to prototype an exciting, personalized experience and work with campus app experts on technology training, analysis and research, API exploration, prototyping, and more.
The program also serves as a talent pool for creative students to intern with some of Modo’s higher education customers. After finishing the program, these students go back and push the boundaries of innovation on their college’s mobile apps.
In the recent 2023 SEED program, Modo selected eight interns who worked on individual projects and one group project. In their projects, participants closely examined the shortcomings of their universities’ campus apps and developed prototypes to address these issues.
Kayla Huffman, an intern from Santa Clara University, created two prototypes that addressed issues with SCU’s app, Mobile SCU. The app featured only a single persona, failing to consider the varied needs of users based on their specific needs and circumstances.
Drawing from her experience as a first-year student and the ensuing confusion, Kayla created a prototype for a first-year persona that simplified all the vital information freshmen need to know, featuring a move-in checklist, a community tab, payment and registration deadlines, and other important tasks.
Kayla’s second prototype was the student center, a hub that allows students to explore on-campus organizations and view a student-led event calendar providing more details about specific events. This feature also includes filtering capabilities and is seamlessly integrated with the Airtable API, allowing users to edit their club information and events in real-time, which is then displayed in the student app.
Kayla’s innovative prototypes improve the experience of Mobile SCU and keep students engaged by helping them feel prepared when they arrive at campus and by making it easy for them to immerse themselves in on-campus activities and clubs.
Albert Shih, an intern in their junior year at the University of California Merced, analyzed areas for improvement within the UC Merced Connect mobile app. Albert reached out to fellow students for insight into what they wanted from the app, revealing that the majority of users wanted a platform that was a “one-stop shop” where students could find everything they needed.
After generating five ideas for possible prototypes, Albert settled on two: OIT System Status and the CatTracks Bus Tracker.
Albert identified an issue with the Connect app’s system status page, which displayed a long, convoluted list with a disorienting array of statuses, making it difficult for students to find the information they needed about service outages or upcoming maintenance. Additionally, the status page is hosted on an external page rather than within the app itself, forcing users to switch between the Connect app and Merced’s website.
The OIT System Status prototype is designed to provide a seamless in-app experience where students can quickly see an overview of system health while providing clear information on upcoming maintenance to prepare them for outages.
Albert’s next prototype, CatTracks Bus Tracker, addresses a problem related to Merced’s bus schedule system. The Connect app’s existing schedule is known to confuse students, especially freshmen who are new to the system. In fact, Albert recounted their experience of once being stranded for over an hour after misreading the schedule.
While the old schedule was viewable on a PDF screen, Albert’s solution is located within the Connect app itself, allowing for better access. Also, all of the bus routes, times, and stops can be easily viewed, and a helpful route planner gives users the ability to plan a trip by entering a start and end point.
Albert’s prototypes consolidate essential campus information into one easily accessible location, making students confident about what they need to succeed on campus and keeping them engaged with the UC Merced Connect mobile app. Leveraging Albert’s personal experience and feedback from fellow students, these prototypes are positioned to significantly enhance the Connect app.
David Knight, who was a senior at Northern Arizona University during the program, created two prototypes to enhance his college’s mobile app, NAUgo. The goal of his first idea, Song of the Day, is to motivate users to visit the app daily through a fun and unique feature that no other college mobile apps offer.
Not only would it improve daily interaction, it would help users discover new music across a wide variety of genres that they may have never heard before. Additionally, the feature allows students to listen to the song within the app, preventing them from switching to a streaming platform and increasing user retention.
David’s other prototype, the Mobile Bookstore, makes it easy for students, alumni, and parents to browse and order items from the campus store by allowing users to shop in-app and see what the store currently has in stock. This feature would be especially useful on the first day of the semester when students are scrambling to get their class materials and parents want to pick up some university-themed merchandise before leaving.
Patty Allenbaugh, team lead of NAUgo, shared the benefits of having David participate in the SEED program, both for his own professional experience and for the NAUgo app.
“The goal of NAUgo’s student worker program aligns perfectly with Modo’s vision. I want the students on my team to experience what it is like to get real-time production experience and be more prepared for the challenges they will face when they join the professional workforce,” Allenbaugh said.
Allenbaugh continued: “When I heard about Modo’s SEED program, I knew this would be a great experience for David Knight, so I encouraged him to take a sabbatical from NAUgo to participate. During his time with Modo, David was able to develop new skills to bring back to our team. I believe this time proved valuable to David’s professional development and the continued success of NAUgo.”
Since completing the program, David has been offered a full-time position at NAU, where, if he accepts, he will continue to improve students’ app experience and have the opportunity to implement a few of the prototypes he prepared for SEED.
As these interns transition from the SEED program to the next phase of their careers, they are better equipped with knowledge and real-world experience that will shape the future of campus app development.
We are excited to see the groundbreaking innovations that Kayla, Albert, David, and the rest of the SEED interns will make as they set off on what will surely be long and successful careers.
Modo is preparing for its next class of SEED interns. If you know someone who would be a good fit for the program, contact Modo.