A brutal attack in Leicester has reignited anger over the growing violence facing students across the UK, with campaigners warning that universities are still failing to protect young people.
The tragedy saw 20-year-old Khaleed Oladipo fatally stabbed near the De Montfort University campus in Leicester city centre on Tuesday evening, leaving the city in shock and prompting a murder investigation by Leicestershire Police.
As the city continues to dominate the headlines, safety experts say an innovative free mobile app created in the Midlands could hold the answer to preventing attacks before they happen, "by giving students real time protection and alerts about danger in their area, and it needs to be embraced."
Monica Ghuman, Project Lead at the Student Safety App, which is being backed by the Barnaby Webber Foundation, said the latest incident should act as a wake-up call for universities and authorities nationwide.
“Every time something like this happens, we hear the same promises, but nothing really changes. These incidents should be teaching us hard lessons, yet in 2026 students are still being left to fend for themselves in unsafe environments.
"Our team contacted De Montfort University, but they didn’t even respond back to us, it was the same story with many other universities."
"Universities talk endlessly about wellbeing, but when it comes to real protection on the ground, there is a shocking lack of urgency. What happened in Leicester today is not a one off. It is part of a pattern of violence that has become disturbingly normal."
The Student Safety App, which launched nationwide last year by former England footballer Emile Heskey, was developed in response to rising levels of knife crime, sexual assaults, spiking and attacks in student areas and nightlife hotspots. The app immediately sends a notice out to all students in that vicinity about a risk and the content partnership with the Universities is free.
The platform allows users to receive real time alerts about nearby incidents, share live journey tracking with friends and report suspicious behaviour instantly to help build a safer student community.
Monica, who studied in both the United States and the UK, said Britain remains far behind other countries when it comes to student safety.
She said: “In other countries, safety is taken much more seriously. In the UK, students often only find out about serious attacks days later through the media. That delay can be the difference between staying safe and becoming another victim.
"This is why we are all so passionate here about this app and what it could mean for the safety of our young people. When we look at the Nottingham Attacks, this app could have sent out real time warnings to everyone in the vicinity."
Surveys have shown that more than half of students fear serious violence such as knife crime or assault, while many also worry about sexual crime and theft, yet safety campaigners say real time protection is still not being treated as a priority.
A further report from the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) revealed that despite security staff being a common sight on university campuses, only one third (30.8%) of students surveyed agreed that they keep students safe on campus.
Emile Heskey said the Leicester attack underlined the urgency for change.
“Students should never have to walk home frightened or feel unsafe simply for living their lives. The violence we are seeing is unacceptable. Tools like the Student Safety App can make a real difference, but only if universities and authorities act now.”
Campaigners are now urging universities across the UK to adopt modern safety technology and work closely with the app to help prevent future attacks, warning that without immediate action, more students will continue to be put at risk.
Fore more details on The Student Safety App, please visit Staying safe at University - Student Safety