Building With Purpose: The CourseQR Story

Access to course materials is not always guaranteed for many students. Notes are poorly organized, and sometimes completely unavailable. This is an inconvenience for many students. However, for Fashoranti Olarenwaju, it was more than a minor inconvenience. It was a problem that needed solving.

Now a 400-level student at the University of Lagos, Fashoranti Olanreawaju is a software engineer, a problem solver, and a first-time founder. His interest in building solutions to real problems, especially at the intersection of technology and education, led to the creation of CourseQR. CourseQR is an educational technology platform that helps students access, organize, and study their course materials more effectively.

Olanrewaju and Building with Purpose

Olanrewaju believes that entrepreneurship is not just about simply starting a business or creating a product; it is about identifying real problems, solving them, and earning in the process. He emphasizes the importance of building products that people genuinely want to use, rather than creating them solely to be called an innovator. That problem-solving mindset became the driving force behind CourseQR.

The Challenges Behind The Vision

Like many student-led innovations, the journey has not been without setbacks. One of Olarenwaju’s challenges was funding. As a student founder, he had to rely on self-funding to get the project off the ground. Gaining access to course materials was another major obstacle. It was difficult to collate materials from the nine departments under the College of Medicine, and that took him about a year to achieve. Furthermore, Team retention also posed challenges. CourseQR started with a comprehensive team, but many members left due to the challenges they faced during the building phase. Now, his team includes Ridwan Bakre and Precious Fadeni, both 400-level Radiography students.

Lessons From Building CourseQR

Reflecting on his journey, Olanrewaju notes that he has realized that the journey gets tougher as one advances. However, he has learned that building a successful product requires staying closely connected to users and continuously listening to their needs.

What’s Next For CourseQR?

Looking ahead, Olanrewaju hopes to see the platform grow into a major EdTech force. He wants CourseQR to make a significant impact on how students learn and access educational resources.

At the moment, his team is building an AI tutor that works offline, a feature that will aid learning without internet access. Plans are also underway to build one of the first digital labs for students. They also aim to expand their products to secondary schools, introducing the tools to learners at an early stage.

For Fashoranti Olanrewaju, CourseQR represents a commitment to building technological solutions to educational limitations, one solution at a time.