BACKGROUND

Facebook started life as a university-only network and has since grown far beyond those original roots, with some one billion+ users globally. No surprise, then, that it’s losing ground among its original user-base. Facebook finally fessed up to some decreasing usage among teens just this week.

Facebook’s huge size, ambition to ‘connect the world’ and user-base that spans the generations is inevitably fossilising its feature-set, as usage of the service condenses down to a well-trodden average.

This makes the social network ripe for disruption — or more specifically for creative deconstruction. In recent years less overarching services have been able to come in and attract users to more tailored and intimate products, whether it’s photo-sharing (Instagram), mobile messaging (Line, WeChat) or more targeted social networking services such as the product I intend developing.

 PROBLEM

May I start with this. I am an international student from Thailand and I am here in the United Kingdom for my Master’s degree in Accounting. I have seen a gap in the international student market which I intend to solve through an idea. I have been faced with diverse difficulty in my bid to acclimatise with the university environment on my early days here in the United Kingdom hence I have thought of a mobile application software that can aid my plight. This idea is on the verge to make me become a CEO of a start up at 22 years so I thank you in advance for contributing to this idea.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in their 2009 World Conference on Higher Education report, Over 3.5 million students were studying outside their home country. UNESCO also predicted that the number of foreign students might rise to approximately 12 million by the year 2020. The main destinations preferred were the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada and Australia. Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own.

PROPOSED SOLUTION

The act of studying abroad and settling in quickly can be self- disconcerting. From acquiring an accommodation, to meeting friends, to getting to meet students who come from same country as yours, to getting to know the community e.g local country stores, local restaurants, barbing saloon, and for religious people, getting to know where to find e.g Buddhist temple in the locality.

Hence to ensure international students acclimatise easily to the institutions either college, polytechnic or universities community. I have brought up an idea to develop an social community application for the international students from same countries to meet each other. The app has a lot of other enriching features. For example, I am from Thailand and I just gained admission to study accounting in the University of York, England, I can meet students already in York that are from Thailand and international students from other countries that gained admission to study accounting.

These are few features that characterises the app I intend to develop

• Allow for you to meet your fellow international students and make new friends even before resumption into the university abroad.

• Allow for you to meet with alumni who graduated from same university.

• Book cheap accommodations off campus to have a mix of the local area and be opportune to imbibe the culture. Living off campus is a popular choice, because students are more independent and learn more about the new culture when they are on their own.

• Get local job alerts and internship should the students want to work some hours for money.

• Precise Maps to different landmarks, stores to buy groceries, stores to get gadgets, Barbing Saloon, recreational centres, college bars, religious institutions e.g church, mosque, Buddhist temple etc

• Former international students graduating from the university can sell items such as electronics, kitchen tools and books to new students. This section will be called Marketplace.

Presently, I have the business plan and the cash flow analysis however no capital to fund the application development. I need capital of 3300pounds to pay the developer for the implementation of both android and iOS app and the remaining fund goes to the social media campaign and intra university marketing campaign. Please note that after the application is live, I have plans to generate revenue to keep it up and running. On request, I can also share the ways I intend to generate revenue.

I hereby solicit the assistance from the good office of people on this crowdfunding site to make my dream application software a reality and make me become a CEO of a start up at 22.

I strongly believe the international students can find relief in using the application from next academic session.