Behind The Design: Euhu
In this edition of #BehindTheDesign, we're taking a closer look at EuHu , an online hub for educators, which stands out for its commitment to providing inspiration and high-quality professional development. We spoke to Christopher Burgess (CB), the Project Lead for EuHu, and Emily Grant (EG), one of our dedicated developers who played a significant role in bringing this platform to life.
How did EuHu begin?
CB: EuHu's journey began when we recognised the shared challenges faced by educators in delivering quality content. Instead of merely focusing on selling products, we saw an opportunity to offer something truly empowering and valuable.
EG: Originally, we explored the idea of integrating EuHu with our teacher-facing brand, Hope, with the aim of creating lessons closely integrated with website resources.
CB: However, we envisioned something bigger—a comprehensive offering that could benefit all our brands and, indeed, Findel as a whole. Many were unaware that Hope was a Findel brand.
EG: The pivotal question was, how could we make our lesson content more interactive and truly solve the challenges faced by teachers and educators?
CB: This realisation led us to create a standalone platform and brand, EuHu, capable of standing on its own merits.
How did you develop EuHu?
CB: The development of EuHu was rooted in our desire to meet the genuine needs of educators. Therefore, we brought together a significant portion of the EuHu team, many of whom are former educators themselves, which was invaluable in shaping our content.
EG: To ensure we truly understood these needs, we conducted research and insight sessions with educators. Their feedback was enlightening. They highlighted the difficulties they faced with our competitors' digital lessons and resources which inspired us to shift our focus away from merely selling products.
CB: While the EuHu team focused on content development, we engaged our creative team to design EuHu's branding and our development team to build the platform itself. As part of this evolution, we established a dedicated studio space. This space has not only been instrumental for EuHu but also benefits the entire business by enabling the creation of high-quality content across all our brands.
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How do you build a platform like EuHu?
EG: EuHu, from a development perspective, is what we refer to as a "greenfield project." This meant that we were essentially starting from scratch, not building on existing foundations.
CB: Developing a greenfield project necessitates constructing an entirely new architecture, particularly one with an element of integration with the existing information we had in place. Our software development process allows us to continuously release new features, test them, gather feedback, and iterate—a process that keeps us responsive to educators' evolving needs.
EG: Building a platform like EuHu is no small feat; it takes years to get it right. Adaptability and the ability to pivot are critical to ensure that we're consistently delivering what educators need, precisely when they need it.
EG: All our content aligns with the curriculum, we introduced a content editor that empowers educators to customise lesson plans. This flexibility ensures that educators can achieve their OFSTED targets while tailoring the content to suit their unique teaching situations.
What does the future hold for EuHu?
EG: Unlike our physical products, EuHu is continually evolving as we expand its capabilities. We're committed to regularly adding more content.
CB: As of now, we've already uploaded 100 WOW lessons, and we've been approached by numerous potential partners interested in creating more lessons. We have exciting topics in the pipeline, including how to leverage AI in the classroom, as well as the launch of both Early Years and Secondary school content. Our ambitions for EuHu have always been substantial.
CB: We've long envisioned a social platform aspect, and we've been diligently working to make it a reality. This feature will be highly valuable for teachers and educators, enabling them to connect, share inspiration for lesson plans, and offer mutual support. It's expected to go live in the next 2-3 months, and by fostering a community, we aim to become educators' first port of call when they face challenges.
CB: These are truly exciting times for EuHu, so stay tuned for what's to come!
You can sign up to Euhu and get free access to all our lesson plans until the 1st October here: