Students don’t need more systems – they need the right information at the right time

SisuMobile complements the Sisu student information system by bringing together key information from a student’s everyday life in one clear mobile view. It is not Sisu in miniature, but a mobile application designed specifically around students’ everyday needs, making the most important information and functions easily accessible.

The SisuMobile home screen highlights what matters most at that moment – for example, the time and location of the next teaching session and the latest notifications. The aim is not to fit everything onto a phone, but to make essential information easy to find. SisuMobile is deliberately clear and lightweight, so students do not have to waste time searching for the information they need.

SisuMobile is developed together with students

SisuMobile was not designed based on assumptions alone. Even before starting the actual development work, we wanted to understand what students really need from a mobile application and which types of information are most important in their everyday lives.

At Funidata, we gather user insights in a variety of ways, including surveys, polls and A/B testing. The development of SisuMobile also made use of the Funilab user research tool, whose community includes students, administrative staff and teachers. Students from six different higher education institutions took part in the first survey.

Based on the survey results, we designed the first prototypes and tested them at two higher education institutions in real-life environments. This gave us a better understanding of how students use their phones as part of their everyday studies and which features genuinely provide value.

Ease of use, a clear visual design, quick sign-in and having important information available in one place were among the key themes highlighted by the research. The location of the next teaching session and the day’s timetable were also particularly important to students. These insights helped us prioritise where to focus first in the design of SisuMobile.

Turning student needs into practical features

Based on surveys and user testing, we selected the features for the first version according to what would provide the most value to students in their everyday situations.

The first production versions include a calendar view, tools for tracking completed studies and study progress, and push notifications. At students’ request, the calendar also allows them to add their own entries and reminders.

Student restaurant menus also emerged as a feature students would like to see. Implementing this, however, requires the higher education institution to provide an interface to its menu data, so we are currently exploring different ways of bringing menus into the application. In the future, SisuMobile could also provide access to student services contact details and news feeds that are relevant to students.

We recently conducted another round of user testing at a student event at a higher education institution. Using the prototype, we explored whether the calendar features we had designed would be useful and easy for students to use. Students quickly became familiar with the interface, which was perceived as clear and approachable. The development suggestions we received from users aligned well with the current product vision, and many of the requested features are already included in our plans for further development.

What does this mean for higher education institutions?

SisuMobile offers higher education institutions a new way to bring information already available in Sisu into students’ everyday lives and, in turn, improve the student experience. The clear and lightweight mobile view brings together information that is important to students and helps them stay up to date with timetables, teaching locations, changes and cancellations, for example.

The needs and wishes of higher education institutions also help shape the development of the application. For example, the possibility of using SisuMobile for crisis communications has emerged as one area of interest among higher education institutions.

For students, what matters most is being able to find essential information quickly, all in one place. When they don’t have to spend time searching for information across multiple views, they have more time to focus on their studies. The clear and customisable interface is designed to support students in their everyday lives and help them focus on what matters most: making progress in their studies.

Notifications deliver information to students precisely when it matters. For example, important changes or cancellations to teaching can be sent directly to their phones. In this way, SisuMobile reduces unnecessary friction in students’ everyday lives and makes it easier to plan their studies and manage their time.

SisuMobile is also deliberately ad-free. Its purpose is not to compete for students’ attention, but to provide a clear and calm way to access information that is relevant to their studies. An ad-free and easy-to-use interface provides a strong foundation for a service that can continue to be developed and tailored to the needs of higher education institutions and their students.

SisuMobile will not automatically be available to all higher education institutions using Sisu. Each institution decides separately whether to adopt the application. SisuMobile can be downloaded from Google Play and the App Store. Like Sisu, SisuMobile is developed with a strong focus on quality and long-term needs.

Student-centred development continues

Digital services work best when they become a natural part of everyday life rather than demanding extra attention. The development of SisuMobile will continue by listening to the needs of students and higher education institutions. The goal is to stay true to the principle that started it all: making the information students need available at the right time and in the right place – without unnecessary searching.