IT training software spinout Sidecar Learning has received capital from University of Arizona’s Asset Development Program after joining the state-funded I-Corps accelerator.

University of Arizona (UA)’s technology transfer office, Tech Launch Arizona (TLA), has launched a US-based IT training software spinout, Sidecar Learning, with an undisclosed amount of funding from its Asset Development Program.
Sidecar Learning will commercialise software that helps university educators create tutorials based on content from the web, such as text, videos or web tools.
The software runs within a sidebar in students’ internet browsers once they load a certain web page, offering them the opportunity to ask questions, receive feedback and evaluate their understanding of the content.
The platform allows educators to deliver bespoke lesson plans and has been built according to pedagogical principles of teaching. Sidecar already has a contract in place to deliver its service to University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
To help get the concept off the ground, Sidecar’s co-founders Jason Dewland and Yvonne Mery, both associate librarians from University of Arizona’s library department, accessed support through TLA’s iteration of the US government-funded I-Corps research accelerator.
Doug Hockstad, assistant vice-president at TLA, said: “With all the software development going on across the UA, we know there are huge opportunities out there to move these solutions being created by amazing UA developers out into the marketplace where they can really make a difference.”