Synap

Last updated

Synap
FormerlyMyCQs
Company typePrivate Company
IndustryEducation Applications
FoundedOctober 2015
FoundersJames Gupta & Omair Vaiyani
Headquarters Leeds, United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
James Gupta
(CEO)
Omair Vaiyani
(CTO)
Number of employees
14
Parent Synap Learning Ltd
Website synap.ac

Synap is a British educational technology company that provides secure online exam delivery and learning tools. [1] Founded in 2015 as a spaced repetition flashcard app, the platform has since evolved into an assessment system used by universities and professional bodies for high-stakes online exams.

Contents

History

Synap was co-founded in 2015 by Dr James Gupta and Dr Omair Vaiyani, graduates of Leeds Medical School. Originally named MyCQs, the platform launched as a web and iOS application aimed at UK medical students. It allowed users to create and share crowdsourced multiple choice quizzes, employing spaced repetition principles similar to Anki. [2] [3]

During Synap's early years, co-founder James Gupta briefly worked as Chief Technology Officer at JumpIn, a student taxi-booking app later acquired by Addison Lee in 2014. [4] [5]

In 2014, the project received funding and mentorship from Jisc’s Summer of Student Innovation programme, [6] as well as a University of Leeds enterprise scholarship and bootcamp support. [7] These initiatives helped advance Synap’s adaptive learning algorithms, later discussed by Gupta in The Huffington Post. [8]

The company rebranded as Synap in late 2015 following a successful equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube. [9] James and Omair completed their medical degrees in 2017 and subsequently focused full-time on Synap, expanding the team in Leeds.

In 2019, Synap entered an exclusive partnership with The University of Law (ULaw) to deliver adaptive practice and assessment for the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE 1). [1] The agreement gave all ULaw students access to Synap as part of their study programme, with the aim of improving outcomes through personalised practice.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Synap expanded its secure online exam delivery in response to rising demand for remote assessment. [10] [11]

In 2023, the company launched Synoptic, an in-house online proctoring system. Within six months it had monitored more than 1,000 exams, addressing the need for secure large-scale assessment. [12]

Infrastructure

Synap was originally developed on Facebook's Parse platform. [13] In January 2016, Facebook announced that Parse would be closing down, and advised developers to migrate their apps to other services. [14] As of March 2016, Synap has been hosted on Amazon Web Services, using the newly open-sourced Parse Server, which itself uses Node.js. The website is developed in Ember.js, and uses a MongoDB database, making Synap an example of full-stack JavaScript development. [15]

Recognition

Synap has been featured in The Oxford Public Health Magazine. [16]

In December 2015, Synap was listed as one of 10 British AI companies to look out for by Business Insider . [17]

Synap was a runner-up for ‘EdTech of the Year’ at the 2021 British Data Awards. [18]

It was later selected as a finalist for 'Innovation of the Year' and 'Education Initiative of the Year' at the 2024 British Data Awards. [19]

Products and Services

Synap offers a comprehensive suite of educational tools and services:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The University of Law partners exclusively with learning management system Synap". FE News. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  2. "University of Leeds students aiming to get top marks for smartphone app", Yorkshire Evening Post, retrieved 24 April 2016
  3. "Student Generated Resources", University of Leeds (Technology in Medical Education), retrieved 24 April 2016
  4. "Young Brits: the winner's stories so far", Jack Wills Blog, retrieved 24 April 2016
  5. "2015: Year of the rideshare?", Cab4Now, retrieved 24 April 2016
  6. "Jisc Summer of Student Innovation 2014", Jisc, retrieved 24 April 2016
  7. "University bootcamp puts fledgling entrepreneurs through their paces", University of Leeds, retrieved 24 April 2016
  8. "The death of the university lecture", Huffington Post, retrieved 24 April 2016
  9. "Crowdcube pitch page for Synap", Crowdcube, retrieved 24 April 2016
  10. admin-risepoint (3 June 2020). "Coronavirus sparks an increased interest in distance learning". University of Birmingham. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  11. "Online learning gets its moment due to COVID-19 pandemic: Here's how education will change". ZDNET. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  12. "British Data Awards 2024: Finalists Announced". Predatech. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  13. "Developing an effective technology stack", Synap Blog, retrieved 24 April 2016
  14. "Moving On", Parse Blog, retrieved 24 April 2016
  15. "Synap.ac's technology stack", StackShare, retrieved 24 April 2016
  16. "Oxford Public Health Magazine Issue 4: Innovation and social entrepreneurship (p32-33", Oxford Public Health Magazine, retrieved 24 April 2016
  17. "10 British AI companies to look out for in 2016", Business Insider, retrieved 24 April 2016
  18. "British Data Awards 2021 Winners Announced | Predatech". predatech.co.uk. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  19. "British Data Awards 2024: Finalists Announced | Predatech". predatech.co.uk. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.