主要研究 今天

Could a back-to-basics social media approach like the original Facebook help University of New Hampshire students feel connected?    

That’s what Brett 舒尔茨 ’26 hopes as he works to launch his social media and e-commerce platform, 大学连接器.     

舒尔茨, majoring in business administration with options in finance and entrepreneurial studies at the 彼得T. 保罗经济与商业学院, is developing the platform to help ease students' social, emotional and financial concerns.    

最近的一次 盖洛普 一项调查发现，全球四分之一的人感到孤独, 在19-29岁的年轻人中发病率最高. 舒尔茨说, 这些统计数据, coupled with the stresses some students feel from being away from home and the lingering social impacts of COVID-19, 提高提高学生参与度的紧迫性.    

“从COVID-19中走出来, 我们意识到学生的整体参与度下降了, 我们正试图找到一种比现有替代方案更好的方法来解决这个问题,舒尔茨说. “I want to build that sense of community for incoming students and help them find their spot on the 主要研究 campus and take advantage of high-impact opportunities.”    

大学连接器 would help address some of these concerns because 主要研究 students could connect exclusively with each other on the platform while joining specific interest groups where they can chat with like-minded individuals, 据舒尔茨说. Campus clubs and organizations could also promote activities and resources on the platform.    

舒尔茨 points out that traditional social media once offered exclusive communities like those 大学连接器 would provide but had to adapt to changing business models and advertising methods.    

“通过传统的社交媒体或尝试学生参与应用程序, we've found that it’s an ingenuine solution … what we're trying to do is build a genuine solution that solves the problem of social isolation while also having a sound business model,舒尔茨说. “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel; we’re trying to change the model.”    

在财务上可持续发展, 大学连接器 would utilize a marketplace feature where students can sell textbooks, 学校用品, 家具等. 舒尔茨指出，这个市场对学生来说也是一个很好的收入来源, 纾缓财政压力.    

舒尔茨 aims to fully deploy 大学连接器 on the 主要研究 campus by the fall of 2024. 他的团队也正在进入 保罗·J. 霍洛威奖竞赛. 

大学连接器 recently won $2,750 for being the most financially sustainable solution at the NH社会创业创新挑战赛. 舒尔茨 has used the funding to hire four additional developers to improve and grow the platform.   

舒尔茨 envisions extending 大学连接器 to other college campuses and has visited different schools to assemble a team of student ambassadors. The aim is to establish a structure where students manage each school's page continuously.    

The development of the 大学连接器 platform originated from 舒尔茨's participation in the 保罗创业中心莫里斯创新奖竞赛他赢了. 舒尔茨最近被选为 BostInno的 通过他在创业中心的工作获得了年度25 Under 25榜单. BostInno is a digital media outlet that covers startups, technology and innovation.    

Joshua Cyr，临时董事 彼得T. 保罗创业中心, said he’s impressed with the amount of effort 舒尔茨 has put into 大学连接器.   

“The challenge with such a technical idea is that if you don’t have the technical knowledge to build it, 你要么学习，要么与专家合作,西尔说。. 布雷特决定两样都做. He started teaching himself how to build websites and how to install plugins and has been doing research. At the same time, he's been having great conversations with students to work on the project with him.”   

The ECenter is a place where many new ideas are hatched and discussed, and Cyr advises when needed. 他说，大学连接器的发展非常迅速，令人兴奋.     

“While the core ideas remain the same the approach and specifics evolve as Brett has spent more time on it. He has met with many students from multiple colleges, mentors, competition judges, etc., and continues to do so while synthesizing those varied and sometimes even contradictory bits of feedback into his own vision and plan for the startup's future,西尔说。.   

除了大学连接器和他的商业研究，舒尔茨是一个 可持续发展双专业 并且在主要研究非常活跃. He said the ability to study entrepreneurship and a 可持续发展双专业 made 主要研究 stand out.    

他说:“并不是所有的学校都有这样的课程，更不用说两者都有了。. “我认为创业是解决问题的工具, 当你想到与可持续发展相关的问题, there's a bunch; that’s why I think the Social Venture Innovation Challenge is great. 有很多系统性的社会问题, 经济, 以及这个世界的环境问题, 还有很多小众市场, 比如社会隔离, that I think can be solved with business serving as a mechanism and an overall force for good.”