Gavin,

I've been involved in trading and accounting LETS exchanges within a local group in Coventry for a couple of decades until most of our active members retired. 
The accounts are still maintained and occasional trades take place on the system website, but there's no longer any development. We now have a party or meet once or 
twice a year. The idea is that the value of exchanges in pounds equivalent is recorded in local units - it becomes a reputation system where those in good standing are 
more likely to be able to get reciprocal support from others on the basis of acknowledgement recorded for value received. It becomes a kind of local
money. I think currency-equivalent value accounting (as with LETS), as opposed to time-input accounting (as with Timebanks) is more relevant to a student employability
initiative.  I think there's a potentially fruitful match between this system and it's application within HE - but I don't know of any previous application in this context. 

One of the problems in this application is that students tend only to be at University for a few years and then spread around the world. It's possible that the Alumni
association might maintain accounts remaining and maintain the connection longer term. Alternatively, students in a commitment position (if you allow this) might be expected to balance
their accounts before graduating. If you don't allow student accounts in commitment then activity in generating circulating currency will be limited based on the level of 
seigniorage the University can be trusted with by its students - and the extent to which students expect services/goods in return the University provides them and which 
they can pay for using local currency units before they leave - or carry over as alumni.  It's also a question of whether you want your local currency softer and friendlier or 
harder and loss free. 

The system organisers make the rules initially - though you may well want users to help maintain these (e.g. via AGMs). The other issue concerns long-term trust between 
account holders and organisers, in the sense that corporate organisers of this kind of initiative often personally or corporately don't take on an adequate level of long 
term commitment concerning system maintenance which would be unfair to students who are expected to invest time and skills in exchange for acknowledgement 
unspent in a system which can disappear in a puff of hype when the organiser gets a different job elsewhere or develops other agendas and initiatives. So don't do this 
and expect to walk away in a couple of years chasing after the next big thing if you're interested in fostering a longer-term relationship with alumni.  So I'd suggest 
successful application requires long-term commitment from the highest decision making level within the University, as well as involving the Alumni office and the Students' Union. 

Some support (e.g. software, support, training ) might be potentially offered by the LETSystem Trust or LETSLink UK if there is sufficiently active interest in investing based upon this
concept.  

Richard Kay,
Senior Lecturer
School of Computing and Digital Technology
Birmingham City University.

LETSystem Trust Trustee


Gavin McCabe <[log in to unmask]> wrote on Tue, 12 Apr 2016 12:03:32 +0000 :

> I’m getting in touch to see if anyone is involved in or knows of a student-to-student skills exchange/skills sharing in their institution?
>
> At Edinburgh, while we’ve examples based around an individual skill, e.g. language café, we’ve nothing where people are actively exchange different skills.  There’s some interest 
> here for something along these lines, particularly from our Students Union, and we’re researching relevant practice elsewhere.  So far we haven’t found anything HE-based, 
> although a couple of strong non-HE examples exist (see below).
>
> TimeBanking -  http://www.timebanking.org/
>
> Timebanking is a means of exchange used to organise people and organisations around a purpose, where time is the principal currency.  For every hour participants ‘deposit’ in a 
> timebank, perhaps by giving practical help and support to others, they are able to ‘withdraw’ equivalent support in time when they themselves are in need.
>
> yunity -  https://project.yunity.org/
>
> yunity encourages relationships where people can share their time, skills and resources unconditionally. Through these connections and communities we prevent waste 
> and raise awareness for a sustainable way of living.
>
>
> If you’ve any examples from your own institution or suggestions we’d love to hear from you!  As ever, happy to circulate the responses to anyone interested.