With COVID 19 disrupting the World, Universities and B-schools are adopting online learning tools for some continuity in Learning. While Zoom, Google Hangout and Webex are popular platforms, a few B-schools that have invested in propriety Education Technology platforms stand to gain competitive advantage.
Harvard’s HBX and Oxford’s HIVE are well known platform that replicated Classroom Experience using advance digital technology. SP Jain School of Global Management, the Australian B-school with campuses in Mumbai, Dubai, Singapore and Sydney, has developed Engaged Learning Online (ELO), which is one of the pioneering platforms in Asia. As part of the initiative, 16 courses were adjusted for virtual delivery in less than a week. Over 2,000 students from 20 countries have experienced this technology by taking virtual lectures daily from the safety of their homes. Also, over 10000 hours of classes have been successfully delivered using the ELO platform so far.
Engaged Learning Online Platform
SP Jain’s Engaged Learning Online (ELO) technology was launched in late 2018 with the objective of making its EMBA programs accessible to working professionals. Following its success, the School expanded its ELO offering to include executive education programs. As the crisis of Coronovirus hit the globe hard in March 2020, SP Jain Global was ready to roll out its ELO technology to all participants.
So, what is the Engaged Learning Online (ELO) platform? Simply put, ELO is a high-end online learning system that replicates a Live Classroom down to its last detail. The ELO studio is set up with a Robotic tracking camera for the Faculty. This allows Faculty to move freely, maintain eye contact with students, respond to their visual cues, moderate discussions and more, all in real-time. Faculty and students are able to engage in one-on-one conversations as if they were sitting side-by-side. ELO enables faculty to evaluate each student’s level of engagement, respond to them individually and keep them motivated – just like they would do in a conventional classroom.
Speaking on the technology, Mr. Nitish Jain, President, SP Jain School of Global Management, said, “Like most industries, technology is shaping the way we live and experience things. Unlike Zoom, Google Hangout or other popular videoconferencing software that were mostly designed for office use the emphasis within ELO is upon ‘student engagement’. We weren’t satisfied to simply replicate our classes for the online platform. To see that our students continue to enjoy their lessons and bond with faculty, even in the midst of such chaos and uncertainty, is very encouraging to us. We are constantly collecting feedback and tweaking our technology to ensure that it is at the forefront of online education.”
Faculty seem to be enjoying the teaching experience offered by ELO. Dr Anna Tarabasz, Assistant Professor Marketing, Deputy Director MGB Internships, SP Jain School of Global Management said: “Embracing technology inside academia is inevitable and I have gladly welcomed this evolution. Teaching in the ELO was a smooth transition for me. Students at the fingertips, feeling everybody engaged to maximum as there are no “last benchers”! Great vibes and quick inputs from the audience due to polling and chat mechanisms. I simply loved it.”
Students too are finding this a positive learning experience. “ELO has really proven to be a technology of the future especially during these tough times. It has facilitated us, the students at SP Jain School of Global Management, to attend the classes from anywhere in the world without hindering participation of each and every individual,” said, Aviral Singh, a student of Master of Global Business program at SP Jain. His classmate Akshay Jadhav adds, “The Elo experience was much better than what was expected. The professor was able to create an interactive experience for all the students while providing the required learning for the course. The ELO experience far exceeded any online learning experience which I had previously been through.”
SP Jain Global get recognition from top Accreditation bodies and Rankers
ELO at SP Jain School of Global Management marks another successful innovation at the B-school. With campuses in Mumbai, Dubai, Singapore and Sydney, SP Jain School of Global Management is registered as a Higher Education Provider in Australia. Upon graduation, students receive a degree conferred by S P Jain School of Global Management, Australia. S P Jain’s business courses are accredited by the Department of Education/Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), Australia, and licensed by the Council of Private Education, Singapore and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Dubai.
Their full-time MBA and Global MBA programs have achieved significant recognition such as:
- Forbes: Top 15 Best International 1-year MBAs (2019-21)
- Times Higher Education-Wall Street Journal: Top 5 Best International 1-year MBAs (2018)
- The Economist: Top 100 Full-Time MBAs worldwide (2015)
- Financial Times: Top 100 Global MBA programs (2011 and 2012)
It is heartening to note that nimble B-schools like SP Jain School of Global Management are adapting and meeting the new challenges with great success.
