The platform is based around a simple search function. After registering with the Project Lever website, a student can type her field of study into a search bar. Below that, the student can go into more detail about what her particular project is about.
“You can type in as much as you want,” Dotsenko said. “We encourage people to give us a lot of information.”
The site then uses an algorithm to match the student’s research interests with that of a specific professor at her institution. It also informs the student of “top matched funding” and similar “top matched projects.” The listings of the professors include what courses they teach, which students they have advised in the past and what publications they have been published in.
The potential mentors are ranked by percentages.
Option A may be a 90 percent match, for example, and Option B may be an 80 percent match. The student has the option to choose either adviser based on the rankings, not unlike on a dating website.
The service is free to students, but universities must pay a small fee. The company hopes to expand their reach to other universities soon and ideally start allowing students to search between different institutions, Dotsenko said.
- What does higher-ed look like in 2023? - January 5, 2015
- Are ed-tech startups a bubble that’s ready to burst? - January 1, 2015
- Are MOOCs really dead? - August 28, 2014