Peer-to-peer mentoring company Tyfy has its sights set on national growth, after collaborating with Keele University.

Having recently partnered with the University’s Foundation Year programme to provide students with access to its mentoring platform, Tyfy has also moved into the Smart Innovation Hub* to benefit from its new student enterprise support programme

By matching current university students with those in higher years who have studied the same subjects, Tyfy’s digital platform has created a community learning environment that has benefitted more than 200 students to date.

As well as the knowledge-sharing benefits, the platform also encourages engagement through incentives such as gift vouchers and feedback channels which can used to support employment applications.

Tyfy was founded by James Doherty, who completed Keele’s Foundation Year programme before going on to study at the University of Nottingham, and is supported by Emily Goodwin, who is in her second year at Keele.

James commented:

“I’m delighted that we’ve been able to partner with Keele’s Foundation Year. Having been in the same position as these students only a few years ago, I know that having this resource available has the potential to have a big impact on their time here.

As well as facilitating support opportunities for Keele students, we’ve also been able to offer our services to those at Nottingham University too, and we’re hoping to continue this growth to more institutions as the platform continues to develop.”

Speaking about their recent relocation to the Smart Innovation Hub, Emily added:

“We’ve always wanted to keep Tyfy close to home, and it’s great that we’ve been able to take up accommodation and business support in the form of the Keele Research and Innovation Support Programme (KRISP) in this great new facility. 

Through our platform, we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to give something back to the University community that has supported us so much.”

Tyfy are one of three student start-ups that are taking part in Keele’s new student enterprise support programme. Joined by medical education specialists MedPlay and “business neuromarketers” HX Marketing, they will all receive exclusive office space for up to 12 months while they are registered as Keele students, along with access to bespoke incubation support featuring ‘new enterprise’ bootcamps and a variety of business and innovation support workshops throughout the year.

Situated at the heart of Keele University’s campus and co-located alongside Keele Business School, the Smart Innovation Hub has been designed to support the creation and growth of new businesses and encourage more innovation-led business growth. By providing business support, networking events, collaborative workspaces, meeting rooms and social spaces, it aims to stimulate a new more intuitive approach to business and innovation development.

For more information about the accommodation and support opportunities available at Keele University, please visit www.keele.ac.uk/business.

*The Keele University Science & Innovation Park Smart Innovation Hub (Ref: 32R17P01691) / Innovation Centre 6 has been part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the England Growth Programme 2014-2020, the Midlands Engine and Staffordshire County Council with support from the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.