Transforming Hybrid Learning: How the University of Wollongong and Cisco are Revolutionising the Student Experience

Focus on Hybrid Learning

Hybrid learning has been a major focus for universities since the arrival of the pandemic in 2020. For many universities, the imperative was to get content online and allow remote participation in classes as a 'workaround' to face-to-face instruction. But for institutions like the University of Wollongong hybrid learning represented something much more profound than simply getting classes online.

University of Wollongong's Vision

The university - with 33,000 students in Australia and overseas - had a vision to create a consistent experience for students across hundreds of buildings and thousands of rooms. It partnered with Cisco to deploy Cisco Room OS and Webex - the latest generation of audio visual technologies - institution-wide. The system is highly automated to take cost and complexity out of configuration and management of the room-based devices, but more importantly it offers functionality capable of transforming the student experience.

Transformative Technology

According to David Arnold, a Solution Architect at University of Wollongong, the Cisco Webex platform is a single tool that hits every nail.

"The AI we have in this space is off the hook; we can translate content into 108 different languages allowing any student to access content in their preferred language whether they are in the room or joining as a remote participant. The high level of automation also means that a room can be configured in a matter of hours not days or weeks."

Partnership with CAUDIT

Cisco has recently partnered with CAUDIT (the Council of Australian Directors of IT) to improve universities' access to leading edge technology. CAUDIT CEO Greg Sawyer - a 20-year veteran of university IT - felt a tipping point had been reached in terms of the functionality and simplicity associated with audio visual. He lamented that audio visual has been a very big challenge for higher education for a very long time.

Showcasing Innovation

Cisco is working with a number of Australian universities in relation to hybrid learning and hybrid work and will be showcasing some of its latest innovations at Cisco Live Melbourne in November. In fact, both Griffith University and the University of Wollongong were recently nominated globally for awards in Collaboration innovation at the WebexOne conference in Miami. The University of Wollongong was awarded the winner of the Collaboration Champion across Asia, Pacific, Japan and China, adding to the Award for holistic Collaboration leveraging other Cisco solutions such as Meraki received in 2022.

Next Steps

Learn more about Cisco's blueprint for hybrid learning in higher education

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