While academics commonly share research, teaching techniques and other fundamentals that make up the university campus, Kristen Slack said she believes technology can help foster the process in a newfound way.
Slack, a University of Wisconsin-Madison social work professor, is the founder of Prof2Prof, a cloud-based information sharing platform geared specifically toward the academic community.
“Higher education is a space I’m very passionate about,” said Slack, who is in her 18th year as a professor. “How can we do our jobs better? How can we help each other and enhance learning?”
Since its launch, users have shared a range of materials with their peers, including administrative tools, class assignments, group exercises, podcasts, research, syllabi and videos.
The seed for Prof2Prof was planted in late summer 2015 as Slack said she pondered a simple premise about the value of collaboration. “I can learn a lot from my colleagues,” she said.
Within a year, a beta version of the site was launched, and a small group of 50 academics gave Prof2Prof a try as Slack and her team worked out the kinks.
“It was a very helpful exercise,” she said of the feedback she received during the initial rollout.
A year after the beta run — in August 2017 — the current iteration of Prof2Prof was launched and has continued moving in an upward trajectory. To date, Slack said membership to the platform has spanned 30 countries and six continents.
“It’s been a very organic process,” she said of bringing users to the platform. “I’ve found it very exciting to see the amount of diversity.”
In addition to an already robust user base, Slack attributed several other factors to Prof2Prof’s quick ascent.
Several organizations provided Slack’s business, Information Escalator LLC, startup funding for the venture. The seed backers include Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation’s UpStart Program and the Small Business Development Center at UW-Madison.
Additionally, Doyenne, a Madison-based organization that supports women-owned businesses, has lent its support to Slack’s new venture.
Prof2Prof is free to individual members, Slack said, which include higher education academics working at research universities, teaching colleges and technical and community colleges. The service also is available to doctoral students and emeritus professors.
In the road ahead, Slack said she intends to build out Prof2Prof’s business model through proceeds collected from institutional membership fees and other self-supporting methods, such as advertising and giving companies an opportunity to promote resources to the academic community.
“It’s been quite a journey so far,” Slack said. “We’re going to work very hard to build this out. We’re getting it developed to a place where we’re happy, and we’re starting to focus on getting the word out.”
As 2018 continues to unfold, Slack said she is excited about the boundless possibilities as Prof2Prof continues moving away from its infancy.
“I see the potential that can come out of a site like this,” she said.
