Idaho Falls-based Stukent celebrates 10 years in business and global reach

When

launched Stukent in 2014, he had a mission to change the way educators assess and engage students.

The idea for the business came in 2007 when Draper was in college, and he wanted to learn more about internet marketing . There was a lack of courses on the topic at that time, so he set out to educate himself through books, seminars and independent study.

Draper slowly became an expert in the realm of internet marketing and caught the attention of Brigham Young University, Idaho Professor Kent Lundin, who invited him to come back to his alma mater and teach a course on the topic. But, to Draper’s surprise, the curriculum hadn’t really evolved much since he was in college ? despite the many industry changes. He set out to create a more effective internet marketing curriculum for students and together with co-author Jeff Larson from BYU-Provo, as well as some investors, they developed an academic platform that could provide web-based internet marketing courses.

Stukent was born and today the company offers what it calls innovative Simternships and annually updated courseware in marketing, accounting, business and communication. Each aims to provide practical, hands-on learning experiences that mimic real-world professional roles. The end goal is to help prepare students to provide them with the tools they need to successfully transition from the classroom to their careers.

Jim Holm, CEO of Stukent, stated that the company was created to fill in gaps in post-secondary schools’ education.

“Stukent was founded because there was a significant gap in higher education: The lack of relevant marketing curricula,” he said. “The concept of experiential learning has been around for a while, but Stukent is changing the game by allowing educators to assess how well students can apply theory to practice. While Stukent materials do include some multiple-choice questions, the assessments go beyond that. In the Simternships, students are challenged to perform real-world tasks these tasks demand a solid understanding of strategies and principles, as they cannot be answered with a simple yes, no or multiple-choice response.”

Today, the company has more than 150 employees and 66% of those are in Idaho. Stukent has been included on the Inc. 5,000 list for six consecutive years, which places them among fewer than 1% of businesses in the United States to achieve that distinction. Stukent reports that more than 1 million students use their platform globally.

“It’s fantastic to see so many educators trusting our products to provide the practical, up-to-date resources that students need to prepare for their careers,” Holm said. “Our customer base has expanded significantly, and we’re now working with a diverse range of higher education institutions.”

While there is a strong global presence with institutions like Harvard and the London School of Economics using the Stukent platform, the company is also well-represented in the Gem State. Brigham Young University in Rexburg is its largest institution partner, and others include Boise State University, College of Eastern Idaho, North Idaho College, the University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College, Northwest Nazarene University and The College of Idaho.

Additionally, Stukent has partnered with Idaho Central Credit Union to ensure Idaho high schoolers can learn essential personal financial skills through their personal finance simulation. Because of the bank’s sponsorship, the program is free for students and the school district.

On the horizon, Stukent is working on adding more educational materials, specifically with how artificial intelligence can help students as they move into their careers.

Holm said, “Despite significant growth, Stukent remains relatively small in the market, which presents a tremendous opportunity for expansion.”

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