After only introducing The Student Safety App on BBC Radio Nottingham two weeks ago, this incredible initiative has now been featured on BBC East Midlands Today.
After hearing about it on the radio, the BBC reached out to Monica Ghuman (Project Manager) and Eloise Paling (Marketing Manager) to feature their project on the show.
With universities set to open for the new year soon, after recognising the app’s ability to keep both new and old students safe, on and around campus, they have filmed a segment to introduce the app ahead of it’s launch.
The BBC team went to The Student Safety App Headquarters in Nottinghamshire, to talk to the girls about what the app is and their journey so far.
They covered footage of the main features of the app, as well as looking over marketing materials which displayed how far it had come. Both Monica and Eloise, having been recent graduates themselves, also spoke about their own experience as students, agreeing that: “we felt that there was a gap in student safety that this application fills.”
To understand one main feature of the app – instant reporting – the BBC explored and recorded the 24/7 manned control room on site, where staff will quickly operate to anonymise any received reports of danger/crime, and send out reliable alerts to students in the area, when the app is up and running.
A joint interview will also air explaining an outlook on the planning, collaboration and development stages of the app, with Monica also being filmed using the demonstration version of the app – to give a preview of it in use.
Student safety is at the forefront of this app. They are not asking for funding or profit – just exposure to make a real difference and give students, and parent’s alike, the confidence to embrace the experience they are embarking on, to the full.
Monica also explained: “The Student Safety App is going to be governed by ‘The Student Safety Council’. This will be a group of individuals from across the East Midlands, from all working sectors that involve student safety and higher education. They are going to come together quarterly to help bring the topic of student safety into a wider discussion nationwide.”
The June 2023 event of the University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley Kumar being attacked and killed after a night out, was a catalyst for promoting an app with this mission. Barnaby Webbers’ Mother, Emma, supports this vision, and was also interviewed about her thoughts on the app, which will be featured on The Student Safety App’s BBC feature.
Additionally, iconic footballer, Emile Heskey, is also involved, as he agrees with the app’s values. Its community-based, positive social impact, and non-profit drive, has brought him on board to help gain the awareness needed for it to grow in time for freshers. Having a celebrity’s interest in the start-up, hopes to bring the recognition and attention that this app deserves – and hopefully will be another cause in keeping many students safe.
You will be able to view this on BBC East Midlands Today on Monday 11th August. It will appear frequently throughout the day from the start time of 6am, and hopes to give the app the opportunity to gain a lot more regional awareness – and hopefully open national opportunities of exposure resultingly.
Eloise and Monica are currently contacting as many potential partners as they can – from freshers’ fairs, university unions and student accommodations – to get a buzz before its launch at the end of August. They are also creating more content to advertise the app to students around different venues which are hot-spots for students.
Monica commented on this: “We want them to know that this is coming for them. This is a free resource that they will be able to use in September.”
This app promises to be an amazing development in the student safety sphere – one which could save lives and give students, families, and friends the confidence they need to move out and enjoy all the experience has to offer… without any added worry.
Eloise concludes: “This is an app built by students for students. It’s not just an app, it’s a movement.”
For more information on The Student Safety App’s introduction on BBC Radio Nottingham: read here.
