Western edge is a personal and professional development platform. It uses ai and machine learning to recommend learning activities, resources and experiences from across western sydney university to help students become more employable and maximise their potential.
“Students too often navigate their university career feeling unsupported and unprepared for the workforce.”
Western Sydney University (WSU) identified a widespread challenge: many students lacked confidence in applying for jobs and undervalued their life experiences as employability assets. Balancing study commitments with acquiring relevant work experience was proving difficult. The Employability and Careers team envisioned a solution—a personal career coach in every student’s pocket.
They needed a digital platform that would:
- Guide students in discovering their purpose
- Help them recognise and articulate their strengths
- Maximise their potential for employability
Shakewell proposed a centralised and intuitive learning portal powered by Machine Learning and AI: Western Edge.
The solution would allow students to:
- Track and reflect on life and academic experiences via the Story Bank
- Monitor their skills and capabilities through a Personal Capacities Wheel
- Explore curated resources and co-designed learning Playlists
- Connect with WSU Alumni for mentorship and networking
- Receive personalised job and internship recommendations
- Earn skills badges that can be shared across social media
Creating an Empowering UX: Designing Western Edge meant crafting a user journey that felt like mentorship at every step. Through the Story Bank, students could record personal and academic milestones, which dynamically informed their Personal Capacities Wheel—a visual guide to their evolving competencies.
To inspire discovery, we incorporated a playlists feature, allowing students to:
- Choose their own development path
- Access content curated by employers, alumni, and career specialists
Playlists have now become part of some core curriculum. Our research showed that students often struggled with identifying transferable skills. The onboarding and interface were designed to surface content most relevant to their current situation, while encouraging organic exploration of new opportunities.
We also prioritised simplicity. Despite the platform’s complexity, the interface feels lightweight and modern, echoing popular consumer tech platforms students already trust.
This was a custom build powered by Laravel and Next.js, underpinned by flexible architecture for:
- Profile-based content personalisation
- AI/ML-driven recommendations
- Badge and achievement tracking
- Secure alumni networking features
Challenges & How We Solved Them:
Diverse student needs: We built a modular system to ensure experiences could be tailored by study year, discipline, or interest area.
Data privacy for alumni-student connections: We implemented permissioned contact pathways and robust backend filters.
Keeping content relevant: WSU staff were empowered to easily update playlists and stories using an admin-friendly backend.
Unlike standard LMS tools, Western Edge doesn’t just deliver content—it delivers transformation. Its AI-guided pathway empowers students to recognise their growth, build confidence, and take actionable steps toward employability.
Western Edge was built as a foundation to be further expanded. Future projects will expand the platform to include an “Alumni Edge” interface for the Alumni community, as well as a “Community Manager” portal for administration.
“I’ve worked with Michael and the Team for a number of years now on a web development project of strategic value to the University. Michael and the team work in deep partnership and are genuinely invested in the success of the project and the maximising the impact it can deliver to end users. Always exceeding expectations, you will not find a more amiable, grounded and technically proficient team!”