The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and COSECSA partner with StudyStash to engage trainees and boost course engagement
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has announced a new partnership with StudyStash, an adaptive learning platform built on proven neuroscience, to engage surgical learners in East, Central and Southern Africa with their courses and implement responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The implementation will integrate StudyStash directly within the online learning environment of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), providing trainees with personalised, adaptive study tools that respond to their individual learning needs. The goal is to improve the trainee learning experience and help COSECSA train more surgeons to meet the needs of more than 450 million people across COSECSA's 15 member countries, while supporting access to safe, timely surgical care across the region.
Following successful rollouts across the UK, Europe, and the US - including the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University, St Mary's University Twickenham, the University of Oulu in Finland, the University of Latvia, California State University, East Bay and Bowling Green State University - the focus will be on supporting trainee wellbeing and providing academic support, reflecting COSECSA and RCSI's commitment to educational excellence.
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A focus on learning, belonging and balance
RCSI and COSECSA will roll StudyStash out to 700+ surgical trainees in 15 African countries and explore how AI can reduce academic stress, build confidence, and strengthen independent learning skills.
By integrating StudyStash directly within Moodle, learners will be able to convert their existing course material into interactive learning assets such as flashcards, podcasts, practice exams, and learning schedules to support their grades and learning.
"Innovative educational technologies are transforming surgical education. The RCSI Institute of Global Surgery works to ensure that such technologies are effectively employed where they are most needed - in low-resource settings where the need to train more surgical care providers is most pressing. RCSI is excited to partner with StudyStash to make their remarkable platform available to COSECSA fellowship surgical trainees across East, Central and Southern Africa."
Eric O'Flynn
Programme Director - Education, Training and Advocacy, RCSI Institute of Global Surgery
"COSECSA strives to deliver excellence in surgical education, and we believe that implementing StudyStash, in partnership with RCSI, will help us to continue to expand and improve the online learning experience available to our trainees."
Stella Itungu
Chief Executive Officer, COSECSA
Student-centred, always
StudyStash was founded by two students at the University of Birmingham who wanted to make studying simpler, smarter, and more personal. Balancing lectures, coursework, and revision, they saw first-hand how disconnected digital tools often were from the real learning experience.
Their solution was to create a platform that thinks like a student - one that uses cognitive learning science to make learning more efficient, adaptive, and stress-free. What started as a university side-project has since evolved into a growing education technology company, now partnering with universities across the UK, Europe, and the US.
Responsible innovation
"We're delighted to be partnering with RCSI and COSECSA to support surgical trainees across 15 countries. Few learning environments are as high-pressure or as content-dense as surgical training, which is why responsible, guardrailed AI matters so much here. The feedback from this partnership will directly shape the platform's future."
Ben Ward
Co-Founder & CEO, StudyStash
The findings from implementing StudyStash with RCSI and COSECSA will help shape the future development of the StudyStash platform as it continues expanding to support higher education institutions worldwide.
About StudyStash
StudyStash is a UK-based EdTech company that uses AI and cognitive science to make studying more effective, inclusive, and personalised. The platform automatically generates study tools from course materials in 121 languages, helping students stay motivated and organised, while ensuring all AI use remains responsible, secure, and aligned with institutional standards.