That’s why I joined Plato as an Advisor. Not because I needed another role, but because this team has built something universities have been trying to achieve for years: truly personalised, curriculum-aligned support that students actually use. The challenges are well known:

• Rising pressure on student support

• Staff stretched thin

• Large cohorts needing individual attention

• Students juggling work, commutes, caring responsibilities

• Brilliant learning analytics tools that still rely on staff capacity to act on the signals

None of this is a criticism; it’s the reality universities live with every day. Learning analytics (LA) remains essential. I built my career/a business on it. Kortext , in particular, have pushed the sector forward and continues to do so.

The gap isn’t intentional. It’s operational capacity, especially when it comes to scalable, course-level academic support. That’s where Plato fits. Not instead of existing tools, but alongside them.

What Plato actually does:

• Curriculum-specific student support Plato ingests the actual module content and creates flashcards, practice questions, revision pathways and explanations, aligned week-by-week.

• Immediate, structured feedback Students don’t have to wait for office hours. They get guided self-assessment instantly, within the context of their module.

• Insight that complements existing analytics: Plato generates teaching-ready indicators: which concepts are proving difficult, where students are hesitating and what to reinforce next week based on all of this.

This isn’t replacing analytics. It’s strengthening the “action layer” that comes after analytics. Zero friction It sits inside the VLE. One login. No extra admin. Nothing for staff to “learn”.

The impact? Higher engagement. Earlier support for struggling learners. More confidence across the cohort. Clearer signals for teaching teams, in a format they can use immediately.

Why I put my name to this team - they understand faculty realities, build responsibly, and respect institutional governance. They design for inclusion, not idealised student behaviour. And they innovate without disrupting ecosystems that already work, including analytics platforms like Kortext, which Plato complements rather than competes with.

If you’re a Dean or academic leader focused on student engagement, progression, inclusive learning, staff workload or delivering your digital/AI strategy Plato is worth a look.

Your students aren’t waiting for the next strategy cycle. And now, their support doesn’t have to either.