Scottish EdTech company 448 Studio has received £100,000 investment from Scottish Enterprise in the form of a Smart:Scotland grant.
The company aims to conduct a feasibility study of a hybrid learning and teaching platform for the higher education sector in the UK. Its platform aims to create a virtual campus for students and their teachers, offering live video streaming and recording.
With the funding, 448 Studio said it will develop a robust platform that is simple to use for lecturers, easy to access and engage with for students and integrates fully with a variety of learning management systems already in use.
Speaking about the company and its plans in near future, Dan Marrable, Founder & CEO of 448 Studio, said,
“We aim to commercialise the platform we’re developing within six months of completing the feasibility project. Thereafter, we hope to target up to eight UK academic institutions initially for sign-up at a discounted price to enable the development of early adopter programmes.
We are hugely grateful to Scottish Enterprise for their faith in us. 448 Studio’s marketing strategy will be fully integrated with the project giving updates on progress across social media and newsletters to existing clients of our event platform.”
Marrable added,
“Longer term, we aspire to engage with the angel investor market to secure investment to enable the product launch and growth of our technical development team and our own commercial team of marketing, sales, and customer support specialists.”
According to 448, its project has already had endorsement from two major players: the University of Glasgow and its School of Education and Glasgow Caledonian University.
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, the Principal of the University of Glasgow, said,
“The way we teach and interact with students is evolving rapidly. Traditional methods of teaching are being challenged, and the implementation of emerging technologies to underpin learning on a global level is incredibly important. Studies such as the one planned by 448 Studio are crucial in the improvement of the student learning experience and in providing lecturers with adaptable and intuitive teaching tools.”
The Renfrewshire-based company was formed four years ago after receiving backing from the Scottish Government. Earlier this year, 448 Studio received significant support from the Scottish Government to help the Scottish EdTech company further develop its ground-breaking Forumm product, a fully automated virtual events platform. This lets 448 facilitate multiple, simultaneous events not only in the UK but internationally.
