When Spiders encounter a hurdle, they don’t just accept the status quo — they find a solution. And we love how Richmond always helps them make it happen.

That’s what Annie Barrett, ’18, did after a semester abroad in Copenhagen. When she arrived in the city last fall, she was handed the same paper guide that had been given to students year after year. She found many of the businesses were closed, information was outdated, and newer hotspots had never been added.

“This is such a digital world,” Barrett says. “It was absurd to me that I needed to look through my email and print out a guide that is so static and out of date.”

That’s when she got an idea for an app — kind of like Yelp, but only for students.

Thanks to a UR Summer Fellowship that helped pay for app development and help from faculty mentor Bill Bergman, Barrett launched Viden — that’s the Danish word for “knowledge” — in August with a modern, phone-friendly, crowd-sourced guide for Copenhagen. A page for Madrid followed soon after. Already, hundreds of students from colleges all over the country are adding and searching for recommendations for city bike tours, can’t-miss destinations, and even where to go for dinner if your parents come to town.

“The idea is to give students who are studying abroad access to insider information,” she says. “What to do before they arrive, places to go out, places to eat, places to see — all of the stuff you wouldn’t know unless you talked directly to a student who’s been there.”

The launch is going smoothly, but Barrett isn’t resting on her laurels. She’s already talking about ideas for future cities, new social interaction features, and expanding to other user audiences.

We’re proud to be a place filled with problem-solving minds and entrepreneurial spirits. And if you’re a student (or know one!) heading abroad, make sure to download Viden from the Apple App Store.

Bravo, Annie!