Burch Startup Incubator creates unique entrepreneurial learning programs for students, with the aim of helping young people in BiH start cultivating their entrepreneurial capacity early on, thus becoming a serious fresh force in the local ecosystem, by the time they graduate their universities. Burch Startup Incubator has a task to create a sustainable innovation platform through education and market experimentation. This is to support the formation of new companies leveraging our existing university-enterprise partnership.
After Demo Day 2022, International Burch University decided to invest in one of the startups through the Burch Startup Incubator. Besides mentorship, space and networking benefits, this time IBU and incubator are giving financial support to student startups.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mersid Poturak, Rector of International Burch University and students Ivan Mijić, Irma Ramović, Aida Qureshi and Amna Šečerović signed a contract about partnership for development of startup idea AugmentedEdu.
“We are the AugmentedEdu team, and we help children learn new information in an engaging manner through 3D picture books. During the period of growing up, children are gathering all sorts of information around them like sponges. The best way to teach them anything, especially before they even learn how to read, is through the visual representation of the subject. In today’s time, however, from a young age, a child is introduced to smartphones and the wonders of the internet. While many would say the internet is a bad influence for children, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the truth. If used right, the internet along with a smartphone is the ultimate combo to act as an efficient and fun learning tool for young children.” - they told.
Different children have different learning styles, and that is why picturebook “Pikki” combines both auditory and visual aspects to create a fun and interactive experience for children. Pikki also comes with its own app. Simply scan the illustrations in the book and watch them come to life! Life- like 3D models will appear on their devices which will make the entire learning process much more fun since the child is able to zoom in and out to observe the animals. Plus, it makes it all look like a game, just waiting to be played. This is achieved by using the help of augmented reality which is slowly being incorporated more and more into our lives and can be used to our benefit.
Future goal of this startup is to cater to schools and create 3D models for textbooks and diagrams for more efficient learning, not only is it more interactive but it is also more accessible and cost effective.
We hope that this will continue to be a successful story, and that it will serve as an example of successful collaboration between the university and the students. International Burch University is the region's first entrepreneurial university, and our mission is to create stories like this one.
