University of Geneva • Published on the 7th July 2021

The UNIGE app revolutionizes the daily life of Swiss students

With a campus covering the entire city of Geneva, more than 17,000 students, over 552 courses and more than 6,600 employees, the University of Geneva has identified a real need to simplify the communication of essential information.

UX UI Mobile Prototype Design Thinking

The UNIGE app revolutionizes the daily life of Swiss students

In order to provide quick access to room locations, building hours, class dates, and so much more, the idea of developing a mobile app took shape.

The University of Geneva, a great lady founded in 1559

Founded in 1559 by Jean Calvin and recognized as one of the 60 best universities in the world, the University of Geneva occupies the second position at the national level and has 17'000 students and 4'000 employees. The use of technological solutions can be found in all sectors of activity at the University, and new needs regularly arise in order to respond to the problems of students as well as those of teachers and employees.

Offer a digital tool that meets the concrete needs of UNIGE students

To propose a useful mobile app in the context of student life. The main challenge was not to say yes to everything and to make the right choices. We accompanied the communication and IT teams in a series of workshops highlighting the negative points of the student experience, we then imagined the features that would solve the majority of the pain points.

From the very first exchanges with the Atipik team, we knew that our project was in good hands. Today we are proud to see that our students are using and enjoying the mobile app every day!

Omar B. Project Manager, University of Geneva

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A custom-made and integrated solution

As you can imagine, the information system of a university is complex. Therefore, even if the mobile app is not considered a critical part of the ecosystem, we believed in the need to integrate the app seamlessly with the existing system.

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The first brick of a mobile ecosystem

Our creative and strategic teams had a double objective: to design a tool that simplifies the life of students, visitors and employees and to allow the app to evolve and offer innovative services. All this with a mobile strategy adapted to the unique environment of the University of Geneva, its urban campus and its 12 faculties.

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Passing on our culture of agility within a university organization

We love working with the University, because no company in the world is like a university organization. With a fierce desire to learn, to pass on knowledge and to make a difference, the internal teams have been able to accompany us and adapt to our methodologies with brio.

The UNIGE mobile app for all situations, a solution!

The Dashboard, powerful and customizable

The University of Geneva hosts a great diversity of profiles and habits. It was obvious to us that the app should be able to adapt to the users and not the other way around. That's why we designed the Dashboard, the practical, scalable and fully customizable home screen. Moving between buildings is simplified with the TPG Widget, the daily menus of all the canteens are accessible in a few seconds and missing a conference or an event is no longer an option with the Event Widget.

Using the UNIGE mobile app on a smartphone

UniSearch, much more than a search engine

A centralized search engine based on powerful Natural Language Searches technologies. Available from any screen of the app, UNISearch centralizes in one place the most diverse information on the contact of a professor or an advisor, the location of rooms or auditoriums, libraries, buildings or events. Ask a question as if you were talking to a friend, UNISearch finds the answer.

Geolocation of buildings, Indoor and Outdoor

One of the particularities of the University of Geneva is its urban campus. Spread throughout the city, it has nearly 50 different buildings, thousands of rooms, offices, laboratories and auditoriums. UNIGE Mobile allows you to find the building, the floor and the position of the room in the blink of an eye. This makes finding room U364 a breeze. We have implemented a building mapping solution coupled with a sophisticated location engine that allows you to find a room or an auditorium in a few seconds.

The open-mindedness, flexibility and above all the transparency of Atipik's staff was a fabulous asset for us. Universities love to challenge themselves, so with Atipik, we were spoiled.

Jacques E. Web and mobile communication service, University of Geneva

A success, right from the start!

The app is a success, downloaded more than 16'000 times during the first months of its existence, it is praised by students through various internal surveys. Frequent updates allow for the addition of unique features such as library availability or room location in new buildings.