A YOUNG Corkman is on a mission to revolutionise education for students facing academic challenges and a school in Macroom has come on board.
Nextstepuni founder Alex Linehan grew up in a disadvantaged background and attended a Deis school. He never believed that college was an option for him after strugglng academically and failing his Junior Cert.
But the loss of a close friend to a drug overdose was a turning point for Alex. ‘I realised that I had to alter my path,’ he said. ‘I knew I had to make a change.’
He immersed himself in research, exploring peer-reviewed studies on effective learning techniques. He developed a learning system which utilised principles like active recall, spaced repetition, and interleaving—strategies that outperformed traditional methods such as cramming and re-reading. This innovative approach led Alex to receiving a UCC Quercus scholarship.
Today, Alex is committed to helping other students navigate their academic journeys.
‘Nextstepun, offers online courses that blend neuroscience with the insights gained from high-performing students,’ he explained.
After a successful pilot programme in schools across Cork last semester, where over 200 students participated, the results were impressive. ‘The students experienced an average grade increase of 37% and a significant boost in exam confidence,’ noted Alex.
Recently, Alex visited McEgan College in Macroom to equip sixth-year students with the tools they need for success through his online course.
‘My goal is to enhance the progression rate of these students into third-level education,’ he told The Southern Star. To level the playing fields, for every course purchased, a free course is donated to a student in a Deis school.
