Glasgow University Software Service

Bringing University Talent to Software Delivery

Members of the GUSS team working together on a computer

About us

Glasgow University Software Service (GUSS) runs within the School of Computing Science at the University of Glasgow. We provide managed software development services to a range of internal and external customers. We employ computing science students from the University of Glasgow as paid software developers, and design students from elsewhere as user interface / user experience (UX / UI) developers.

Created in 2019, GUSS was set up to fulfil several key objectives:

  • To provide students with paid, meaningful employment opportunities that advance their skills and career prospects and enhance their experience of university.
  • To advance research and knowledge exchange in Computing Science and other academic disciplines via the provision of affordable bespoke software.
  • To provide much-needed affordable software development services to local small businesses and not-for-profit organisations.
  • To support Scotland’s tech start-up community with additional software development capabilities and a talent pipeline.
  • To enable research and knowledge exchange collaborations between Computing Science and other disciplines, where software development services are required.
Member of GUSS pointing out at a whiteboard during a UX session.

Our Ethos

GUSS is a self-sustaining project that operates on a not-for-profit basis. That is, we price and charge for our services to cover the costs associated with running and growing the service for the benefit of our students, customers and for the School of Computing Science.
The welfare of our students is at the heart of our work, as is their successful completion of their studies. All the students we employ are supported by experienced project managers and typically work in pairs or larger teams. We maximise the number of hours our students can work during term time (10 hours per week) and accommodate their needs for flexibility during exam times or other key pressure points in their studies.

Our Customers

Client Testimonies