Entrepreneur and master’s degree student Jens Aarre Seip wants to make maths and statistics assistance more accessible. Norway’s biggest private upper secondary school is now going to test the app, called SnapMentor.
‘We know there are people out there with a lot of knowledge, at the same time as there are a good few who struggle with subjects or have questions. Our idea is to connect the person who has a question with someone who can help them, as quickly as possible,’ says Jens Aarre Seip.
The entrepreneurs Jens Aarre Seip and Eirik Hernes Berre have developed the app SnapMentor, which was launched in the beginning of November.
Aarre Seip is a master’s degree student at NHH, where he is currently enrolled in two master’s degree courses: MSc Programme in Economics and Business Administration and CEMS Master’s Degree in International Management. Aarre Seip has chosen the master’s profile Business Analytics at NHH. Hernes Berre is studying for a master’s degree at NTNU, and has a bachelor’s degree from NHH.
SnapMentor is a digital homework and study assistance service in maths and statistics. The app enables pupils to take a picture of what he/she needs help with and write a short description. The algorithm then ensures that the relevant mentors are notified. The first mentor to respond is given the task.
The app has taken off since its launch, and now has more than 150 users. They have received funding from Innovation Norway and have already entered into an agreement with the private school Akademiet. Aare Seip believes the service has a bright future.
‘We have become part of StartupLab’s incubator programme in Bergen. It is really useful to be linked to a tech environment with such great people,’ says Aare Seip.
According to figures from DNB, approx. 60,000 companies are founded each year. The bank estimates that Norway needs 30% more entrepreneurs every year.
The government’s aim is for Norway to become one of the most innovative countries in Europe, and in August it presented a strategy for small and medium-sized companies to ensure more value creation.
Professor at NHH Tor W. Andreassen says there is an increasing need for economists with technical skills.
‘It used to be the case that engineers drove production, while economists counted the money. Today, more companies are technology-based. When data becomes the most significant commodity, an economist must be able to use large quantities of data to gain insight,’ he says.
Andreassen believes that there is a market for services that are currently being solved analogously. The traditional way of procuring help with homework for some parents has been to take on a private tutor.
‘It is possible to upscale the services and make them digital. I am convinced that everything that can be digitalised will be digitalised,’ says the professor.
The master’s degree profile Business Analytics is among the most popular specialisations among international students at NHH and is attended by 90 to 100 students annually.
NHH founded the master’s degree specialisation in order to meet the increasing demand for economists with analytical and technological skills. It started in autumn 2018.
Jens Aarre Seip has long had an interest in innovation and a wish to create something. He is delighted that NHH is focusing on technology.
‘I think it’s important that NHH is forward-looking and focuses on technology, as it gives us an opportunity to acquire expertise that is attractive in the labour market,’ says Aarre Seip.
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