Following a 20-year career in TV news and documentaries, I have now been teaching Broadcast Journalism at Leeds Trinity University for 15 years and have always aimed to give students practical and real-world experiences so they graduate equipped with the skills and thought processes needed to walk straight into a job. It makes it worthwhile when the feedback I receive from students is that the course does exactly that.

A few years ago, I started collaborating with other universities across the world on TV news programmes that our Leeds Trinity students would work on together with those in different countries. This, more than any other project I’ve conceived, has really increased engagement and performance from my students.

With most universities wanting to internationalise their curriculum and provide a global experience for their students that goes beyond studying abroad, I thought about how great it would be for any lecturer to provide an experience just like the ones my students were benefitting from. But then came Covid, so nobody was travelling to conferences or meeting academics in person for those water cooler moments where ideas seem to be shared.

However, people were getting used to meeting online so, during those lockdown days, I considered how technology could also facilitate my idea. I have friends and family who met their life partners through dating apps like Tinder. Why not have a similar platform where like-minded educators could find each other and collaborate on their shared interests and passions? That is how Globalizer was born.

My colleagues teaching Computer Science at Leeds Trinity University recognised the potential straight away. Lecturers in Computer Science Jim Diockou and Aliyu Lawal Aliyu, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science Yashar Baradaranshokouhi and the amazing Dr Antesar Shabut helped me through the meticulous process of developing the idea further; carrying out literature reviews, doing market research, organising student placements so they could also learn about the process of developing an app and many other tasks. 

Three second-year students listened to my ideas and designed the app over five weeks last spring. One of those students, Nick Ducker, continued to work with us into this year. In fact, he believed in the app so much that it rubbed off on his partner, Lauren Brown, who designed the Globalizer logo.

We now needed a developer on board to bring Globalizer to life. The Globalizer team navigated our way through this uncharted territory and met Olasunkanmi Dawodu of Wilderness Technologies, who worked with us over weeks and months of painful revisions and reworkings. Finally, in May 2023, the app went live and is now available via the App store on Apple devices and the Play store on Androids.

If you’ve read this far, you’re already invested in the study, and I urge you to download Globalizer and visit the website for more information. On there, you’ll also find a feedback form which we’re really keen for you to fill out.

I hope Globalizer brings more academics together in great collaborative projects. If nothing else, the app proves that sheer determination, far too many nights and weekends, and unfailing support from colleagues can make things happen.

Professor Katherine Blair is an Associate Professor in Professional Practice at Leeds Trinity University.