Helping the next generation – and our own – thrive in our fast-changing world requires a strong education system. A system that embraces lifelong learning and meets the needs of students, lecturers, professors and the labor market. To make it a reality, we need a future-oriented approach that blends modern insights with technological innovation. Here’s how delaware is helping to turn that vision into reality.
In an era marked by rapid technological advancements and evolving societal norms, educational institutions face multiple challenges. These include:
What’s taught in school seldom matches perfectly with what’s needed in the work field. The reasons are clear: rapid rise of new technologies, and pressing issues like inequality, inclusion, diversity and sustainability. Educational partners and institutions need to find ways to keep up with the pace of change.
College drop-out rates keep increasing everywhere, putting more focus on the need to improve student wellbeing and personal experience. How? By thinking beyond classes, paying attention to overall happiness and growth, and helping students in their quest for meaningful professional careers. Online tools and virtual experiments can help students stay on top of their workload and feel part of a vibrant community – even when they’re not physically on campus.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges have embraced online and hybrid classes. This change is part of a bigger move towards more flexible and tech-friendly ways of learning. In this way, our institutions can meet the wants and needs of digital native students in a rapidly changing world.
But it’s not just the students’ experiences that matter. Many colleges and institutions still work with outdated back-office systems that are slow, inefficient, and error-prone. An upgrade is needed to keep up with employees’ needs and expectations as well as the demands of the modern world, where cost-efficiency and productivity are key.
57% of educational institutions do not have an AI strategy in place or have failed to align it with their overall strategic objectives.¹¹IDC: Finding High-Impact Opportunities for AI in Education
Data and AI can completely change how universities and colleges operate and collaborate with students. Lecturers, professors, and academic staff can work together in a better way and get more done in less time. For example, data about the student’s educational background, their current grades and desired path forward can result in personalized classes recommendations and even entire mapped-out trajectories. On a macro level, these AI-driven insights and recommendations can help bridge the gap between education and the job market as well.
Microsoft Teams for Education is a versatile digital hub designed specifically for academic settings, enhancing communication and collaboration among students, teachers, and faculty. As part of Microsoft 365, it integrates seamlessly with tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Microsoft Teams for Education provides a unified space for video meetings, file sharing, and real-time collaboration on documents. Educators can create virtual classrooms, distribute assignments, conduct assessments, and facilitate group projects.
It’s not just about students and classes. To build a future-proof educational system, ensure lean operations, and improve the overall educational experience, modern supporting tools are needed as well. These include advanced student and employee self-service apps, financial management software, and BI reporting tools to support academic staff in professional development. They enable institutions to manage everything from enrollment and scheduling to payroll and compliance more effectively.
Moreover, by automating routine processes and providing real-time data analysis, these systems help educational organizations make informed decisions, reduce operational costs, and free up staff to focus on education and research. What's more, they also facilitate better communication between departments and ensure a smoother experience for students and staff alike, contributing to a more organized and productive academic environment.
By engaging in partnerships with the private sector, universities and high schools can address complex challenges and access expertise and resources that are not available in-house. This collaborative and interconnected approach fosters innovation, harnesses diverse expertise, and invites students, lecturers and staff to take initiative.
Belgium’s only maritime university college may have been founded 200 years ago, it has its sights firmly set on the future. With delaware’s help, XR technology was introduced to make lifeboat training safer and more flexible and accessible for students, while making it easier for lecturers to optimize courses.
At delaware, we live and breathe education every day. Many of our consultants are guest lecturers at prominent universities or involved in academic research. In our own offices, we supervise multiple interns every year and help forward-thinking students and alumni to put their innovative ideas into practice via our DEL20 ecosystem. And as an organization at the vanguard of new technology, we’re firm believers in lifelong learning, an idea we put into practice every day.
To build a strong, future-proof education system, student and employee experience need to go hand in hand.Anouk Thomas, Education Business Lead at delaware
Education Business Lead
Connect with Anouk on LinkedIn
/Solution_page_MS_Teams-Banner-1920x355-(1).webp?mode=autocrop&w=1000&h=750&attachmenthistoryguid=210992b9-2892-47d6-b126-314a4e4643ca&v=&c=0bc20e1bb7f2025f53207f9edb6784b5e28313a93f8232a7ef62cba6da27ffbd)
