tasks and projects that can be completed remotely.

For employers, Bowsy addresses: (i) inefficiencies and high costs in current graduate recruitment processes for large companies and (ii) underutilisation of a skilled, low cost and flexible student workforce, particularly amongst SME’s.

Bowsy represents an opportunity for employers to replace ineffective resumes and assessment centres which have not changed since the 1950s and to evaluate potential talent based on actual observed performance and cultural fit. Through remote flexible tasks and projects, employers can work with an exponentially higher number of students at lower cost whilst addressing the graduate skills gap through study related work experience For students, the platform overcomes (i) unequal access to employment opportunities amongst many students due to physical location or background and (ii) the negative impact of working in traditional part time jobs on a student’s academic performance whilst they are studying.

Academic research clearly shows that students who work in a job related to their studies are amongst the best academic performers and enjoy better careers, yet the vast majority still work in part time employment not related to their study. Recent research from Georgetown University also shows that the negative impact of working in non-study related and inflexible jobs, disproportionately impacts lower income and minority students who often have to work longer hours and have significantly less access to study related work experience.

The platform was launched in Ireland in August 2020 based on a partnership with the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business and is already generating revenue within the first month. In addition to this, Bowsy was also recently recognised as one of the top 30 early stage start-ups in Europe by EU-Startups.com and has been featured in the Irish Times, Technews and the Currency. Previously the MVP was piloted in Croatia where clients included Deloitte, Uber, Bayer and BAT.