Inselseth remembers it clearly: struggling with certain first-year courses. Even in later years, some classes remained challenging. ‘I had study delay and wanted to get extra academic support.’ However, it turned out to be quite a search, he explains. ‘Study support was not well organised and was difficult to access. You have to be proactive to arrange it, and the application process also takes a long time.’
At the time, the education sector itself was also changing. Budget cuts meant that many teaching assistants lost their jobs. ‘Together with my friend Robert, who was a teaching assistant, we saw a need and thought: let’s create something. That’s how we started the platform.’
‘As simple as booking a hairdresser’s appointment’
On TutorMe, students can easily schedule an appointment with a teaching assistant. ‘It’s as simple as booking a hairdresser’s appointment. We provide the platform and facilitate the connection. The student and tutor agree on the payment themselves, usually between 15 and 20 euros per hour. We don’t make any money from this service.’
In addition, the platform also offers practice exams, which generate income for the young entrepreneurs. ‘For 2.99 euros you can take a practice exam with us. We are in close contact with students and use their feedback to better respond to their needs. Practical study materials in particular are very popular.’
To meet a clear demand
The UT student sees that the platform meets a clear demand, with six hundred users. ‘These are all UT students. For our EEMCS faculty, we are almost fully covered in terms of offering, and we see an adoption rate of about fifty per cent. Out of 1,260 students, 607 are users. In the next six weeks, we want to provide all bachelor programmes at the UT with suitable content on the platform.’
Reactions within the university vary. ‘We always speak with lecturers when we want to offer a course. Some are enthusiastic and understand our underlying passion. Others are more hesitant and feel the platform is too focused on passing exams, while there is more to the course content.’
Expand and grow
Still, they see opportunities to expand the model to other faculties and even other universities. ‘We take part in challenges such as the Entrepreneurial Challenge and the More Than a Degree Award. We are also working on securing funding so we can continue to grow, including expanding to programmes at other technical universities.’
That Inselseth now runs a company full-time was something he never expected three years ago. ‘If you had told me back then that I would be in the office every Sunday, I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s a lot of fun, but also hard work. At the same time, it is very rewarding. Robert and I both know the pressure of exams. If we can take away some of that stress, it makes me happy.’
