The Invigilator App, a tool created by Nicholas Riemer and two other academics, is making waves in the South African technological education industry. The app is a tool that mitigates the risk of unethical behaviour during online assessments and examinations.
It uses non-invasive Artificial Intelligence (AI) to prohibit collusion and cheating. 400 000 users made use of the app for their remote examinations. South African institutions pay per student for unlimited use per year. The app allows examiners to choose from a variety of photo authentication and speech recording tools, matched to the level of security required for each assessment.
The mobile application is being utilised by some of SA’s largest academic institutions, including the University of South Africa (Unisa), University of Johannesburg (UJ), Rhodes University (RU), the North West University (NWU), Boston City Campus (BCC), University of Cape Town (UCT), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) as well as Accounting Professional Training.
The mobile app that can be used on any entry-level smartphone requires minimal access to data, requires minimal battery and data, and can work offline. It was recently named the top downloaded education app in the country.
Reimer, who is only 32, was recently named the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA’s) Top 35 under 35 overall winner for 2021. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, Monash, as well as SAICA. He began his entrepreneurial journey by attending the University of Johannesburg (UJ), where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
He then spent a year doing academic articles at UJ, and this is where his passion for education developed. In 2017 he joined FirstRand, where he completed the remainder of his articles and transitioned to the investment world to head up the Investment Education team at First National Bank (FNB) wealth and investments.
IOL TECH