An Ivy Tech Community College-Columbus student has won a statewide competition to design a mobile software application for the college.
Esther Flint’s design was chosen out of 41 submissions from 15 Ivy Tech campuses for her work that will connect students with resources and information about the college.
The competition, announced last fall, asked individuals to provide what an app should include to attract students to use it and how the app could help Ivy Tech better communicate with and engage students.
Flint, 19, said her idea combined her interest in the arts with a focus on how to bring together all the Ivy Tech resources already available to students.
“I’m not a computer person, I guess you could say,” Flint said. “I approached the app from an artistic, visual standpoint.”
Her app suggestion was broken into 10 blocks that featured events, campus involvement, academics, important dates, growth outside the classroom, community connections, advising help and library information. It also included shopping for books and student discounts, and a shortcut link to the college’s online student portal.
“It took me a long time to find all the resources that are already available, so I thought having it all laid out in one place on an app could really help students make the most of their time at Ivy Tech,” Flint said. “Our generation, we want everything easily accessible. That’s difficult when working with just email to communicate everything.”
Flint’s solution was to have the app send notifications for announcements and reminders. That would allow students to have control of what notifications they receive and could manage when and how they are contacted through the app.
Flint presented her idea to a local judging panel of faculty and staff on the Columbus campus and then went before a panel in Indianapolis once it was chosen for the statewide competition. The app is now under development with an anticipated launch for the fall 2019 semester.
After she completes her courses this spring at Ivy Tech in Columbus, she plans to transfer her credits to Asbury University in Kentucky, where she plans to major in art.
