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To address isolation and loneliness in the over fifties, DigiGallus Connect aims to close the digital divide and connect people online.

Students from the Business School have developed and run an intergenerational mentoring programme to increase digital accessibility and confidence in Glasgow. They will teach community participants how to send emails, make online video calls, use the internet, and check whether sites are secure when buying online.

DigiGallus Connect will also support those already online who want to upskill and provide those who don’t already have access with internet and a device.

The project helps to counter the effects of isolation and loneliness many over the age of 50 experience, which has been exacerbated as a result of Covid-19. Student mentors also gain an understanding of digital inclusion as well as communicating across generations – a key employability skill.

Professor Kathleen Riach, Responsible and Sustainable Management lead at the Business School has been supporting the students. She said: “The ingenuity, entrepreneurial spirit and social conscience which the students have shown here is phenomenal. They have responded proactively and with enthusiasm in the face of Covid-19 to create s positive learning experience that significantly benefits both them and their local community at the same time. 

Now in its second year, DigiGallus Connect aims to establish 100 mentee-mentor relationships within the local community, with an established student leadership team as well as a range of volunteers from across the School trained up as mentors.

DigiGallus Connect was shortlisted for Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community category at the 2021 Herald Higher Education Awards.

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Further information: business-rsm@glasgow.ac.uk 

First published: 1 September 2021