Who it is for

Varsio is for UK universities that want one app their students open every day, with the university’s own notices and support inside it. It is made for teams in student services, student communications and IT.

Varsio is new. The app, the staff dashboard and the assistant described below are what a university’s pilot launches with, set up for that university and published under its name.

Students see your university’s name, not ours. The app carries your name, colours and crest, and it goes out in the App Store and Google Play from your university’s own account. How long it takes to launch explains why, and lists the steps.

What students get

At launch, students open the app to their timetable, with support one tap from the home screen and everyday campus services below it:

  • the next lecture, its room and the walking time, with a link to the course site, for today or the full week;
  • live bus departures from the stops nearest to halls and campus;
  • library opening hours, and the study rooms free now, bookable from the same list;
  • a campus map of every building and room, with walking times from where the student is;
  • wellbeing support and your reporting routes, reached from the home screen;
  • notices that stay in the app, sent only to the students they affect;
  • events across campus tonight and this week, with a link to the students’ union’s own app;
  • an assistant that answers questions in the student’s own words from the sources you approve. How the assistant works covers what it does and what it leaves to staff.

What staff get

Staff sign in to a web dashboard from the first day of the pilot. In it they can:

  • send notices to a year, a course or a hall, or a combination, so “Year 1 and Psychology” reaches first-year psychology students only;
  • see how many students read each notice within 24 hours, by year, course and hall, with no names shown and no group under 10 reported;
  • put news on the app’s home screen, with a photo, scheduled for the students they choose;
  • share guides, such as PDFs and handbooks, with chosen students, and let the assistant answer from them;
  • see weekly active students, the most-used features and peak hours;
  • see what students ask the assistant, and switch each of its sources on or off.

What Varsio is not

  • It is not a virtual learning environment. Coursework and marks stay where they are, and the app links to the course site.
  • It does not replace the students’ union’s app. It links to it, and to halls apps.
  • The assistant is set up to refer marks and grades, attendance, visa attendance, payments and anything personal to your staff. For wellbeing and harassment it directs students to your official reporting route rather than taking a report itself.

Who makes it

Varsio is made by Shacksolutions, the trading name of SHACKSOLUTIONS LTD, registered in England and Wales with company number 13337279. Shacksolutions is Cyber Essentials certified and registered with the ICO; how we protect student data has the detail.

Shacksolutions has run RHUL Mobile, an independent app for Royal Holloway students, since 2021. On 26 October 2026 it had 5,612 student accounts, 43% of Royal Holloway’s 13,200 students, and more students use it without an account. The RHUL Mobile case study tells that story. RHUL Mobile is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by Royal Holloway, University of London or its Students’ Union.

The name

Varsio is one word, with a capital V, said VAR-see-oh.

Seeing it

We reply within one working day and show you the app with your university’s name, colours and crest on a call. Book a demo.