MIA: Shaping the Infrastructure for Academic Success

MIA is an Operating System for Academic Retention. It is a data-informed infrastructure that helps universities better understand, support, and sustain their academic communities. By combining institutional insight with human expertise, MIA enables earlier, fairer, and more transparent support for students and staff, strengthening scholarly success, academic well-being, institutional resilience, and long-term educational value.

MIA bridges the gap between complex caring responsibilities and institutional requirements, ensuring that students and staff with caregiving roles are not excluded by systems that historically were never designed for them. We provide tools that integrate family life with academic ambition, recognising caregiving not as a barrier, but as a source of resilience, skill, and leadership.

MIA is currently an early-stage functional prototype, shaped in collaboration with a growing community of students, academics, and professionals with lived experience of caregiving in higher education. We are gathering insights to demonstrate that precision support tools are not optional add-ons, but essential academic infrastructure.

Note from the Founder
This prototype is designed to test the practical logic and real-world value of its tools, not polished interface design. Honest feedback at this stage helps ensure the final system reflects the realities of academic life—and the standards academia deserves.

1. Which best describes your role in academia?

A

Student Parent or Carer

B

University Staff Member (Academic, Admin, or Research)

C

Postgraduate Researcher

D

University Leader / Decision Maker

E

Ally / Supporter

2. On a scale of 1–5, how much would a direct, app-based link to your university and Personal Tutor reduce the administrative friction of balancing your academic goals and caring responsibilities?

(1 = Not at all | 5 = Game-changer)

2. On a scale of 1–5, how much would a direct, app-based link to your university and Personal Tutor reduce the administrative friction of balancing your academic goals and caring responsibilities?

A

1 (No impact)

B

2

C

3 (Neutral)

D

4

E

5 (Significant impact)

3. How much time do you currently spend each week manually balancing your academic schedule with your childcare/family schedule?

A

Less than 1 hour

B

1–3 hours

C

3–5 hours

D

More than 5 hours (Significant administrative burden)

4. Does the concept of a system that matches your university milestones with your care responsibilities feel like an essential tool for your success?

A

Essential: I need this to stay organised.

B

Useful: I would use it occasionally.

C

Not Necessary

5. Which of these features felt the LEAST necessary to you in the demo?

A

AI Scheduling

B

Secret Chat

C

Budget Bot

D

Flex Jobs Roles

E

Colab Finder

F

Grant Tracker

G

Mentorship (Personal university Tutor)

H

All Necessary

6. If your university provided this Operating System for free, would it increase your confidence in completing your degree or continuing your career there?

A

1 (No difference)

B

2

C

3 (Moderate increase)

D

4

E

5 (Total confidence booster)

7. Would providing a tool like MIA make you view your university as a more inclusive and family-friendly institution?

A

Yes

B

No

C

Unsure

Untitled multiple choice field

A

8. Compared to the current support tools provided by your university (Portals, Emails, Handbooks), how much more effective would the MIA infrastructure be for your specific needs?

A

1 (The current system is better)

B

2

C

3 (About the same)

D

4

E

5 (MIA would be significantly more effective)