Lock your phones in class and win fee waivers

Imran Mojib, Special Correspondent

A new initiative to encourage students not to use mobile phones in classrooms has been receiving an impressive response from students at schools and universities across the UAE.

An increasing number of students are using Lock&Stock, which is a free mobile App that rewards students with points, for not using their phones in class.

Students earn 1 point for every 3 minutes their phones are locked and can use these points to redeem offers and discounts from over 350 brands in the UAE, avail scholarships and fee waivers from 20 universities in the UAE and apply for jobs and internships from over 50 of the biggest companies in the country.

The app currently has over 30,000 registered students from over 423 schools, universities and institutions in the UAE.

The mobile App was launched in September 2017 by father and son Ian and Craig Fernandes. It aims to expand beyond the UAE and start making a profit by the end of the year.

In April 2019, the App launched a new offering in which users can use their points earned to avail scholarships and fee waivers from some of the most renowned universities in the UAE, including institutions such as University of Wollongong in Dubai, Heriot Watt Dubai, Manipal Dubai, Canadian University Dubai and RIT Dubai.

Students can avail fee waivers beginning at Dhs5,000 all the way up to Dhs50,000. These waivers are exclusive to Lock&Stock users.

Revealing the inspiration behind the App, CEO and co-founder Craig Fernandes said, “When I was a student at the University of Iowa, my dad messaged me one day while I was in class. In the spirit of full disclosure, it was a rather boring lecture, and so I responded instantly. After laughing about my lack of attention span for a while, the two of us began wondering just how many students broke their concentration whenever their phones buzzed with a notification. I looked around the class, and I noticed that this was an actual problem. Lock&Stock was born that day.”

The team behind the App is working day and night to revolutionise the education space in the UAE and eventually countries around the world. Since its launch in September 2017, Lock&Stock users have accounted for over 58 years of time spent offline.

Lock&Stock has partnered with over 350 brands in the UAE, some of which are VOX Cinemas, Novo Cinemas, Careem, Zomato, Amazon, Uber Eats, Nando’s, FiLLi Café and many more.