University of UniMinuto moved online with Microsoft Teams

2021: Go Online with Microsoft Teams

On July 16, 2021, Softline announced that it had acted as a Microsoft partner and helped the University of UniMinuto (Universidad Minuto de Dios) resume the educational process stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Softline deployed the TotalVoice solution instead of the old voice and video communication infrastructure UniMinuto and organized the implementation of Microsoft Teams. As a result, over 15 days, more than 100 thousand university students were able to register in the system, attend lectures, take homework and meet in online format. As of July 2021, with the help of Microsoft Teams and TotalVoice University, UniMinuto can continue to educate students with insufficient resources in the Amazon jungle.

According to the company, during the pandemic, the university experienced a lack of technological solutions to fully support remote training. It used outdated systems for voice and video communication, and students required physical presence and filling out papers, while there was no equipment in the educational premises.

The company UniMinuto turned to Microsoft in order to find a solution suitable for all groups of students, but at the same time allowing it to be implemented quickly and easily. Microsoft recommended that you contact your trusted partner, Softline, about deploying the TotalVoice solution. Softline's TotalVoice solution complements Microsoft Teams by providing a telephony system with tariff plans for emerging markets.

The first part of the Softline plan was to provide a UniMinuto solution for telephony, completely located in the cloud. Softline installed the Microsoft Teams system, using the configuration for direct routing, after which it provided platform users with direct access to the PSTN (public telephone network). As a result, they were able to make phone calls through Teams from any device. All teachers, administrators and employees could receive calls to their regular home phones.

Softline then implemented Microsoft Teams as a learning environment in UniMinuto. With the Genesys Cloud Omnichannel Contact Center, the university was able to keep students informed of the news through text messages, email, and WhatsApp. Through this cloud-based contact center, students received simple instructions on how to configure Microsoft Teams to continue their studies. More than half of teachers and students in UniMinuto have been isolated in the Amazon jungle. Especially for them, Softline provided remote access capabilities. Within 15 days, more than 100 thousand UniMinuto students across the country switched to the platform and were able to continue their self-development, receive knowledge and discuss them.

In each class, Softline installed Lenovo Hub devices with proper video and audio equipment. Teachers were able to use video communication tools to conduct remote classes and classes requiring a minimum number of people to be present on the spot.

The last task of Softline in the framework of the project was to transfer the process of registration of students in a fully digital format. Previously, for registration, they had to come to the institution personally and fill out paper documents, which were then entered into the system by the staff of the reception commission. To automate the process, Softline created a form in Microsoft Forms, integrated with Teams. With its help, students were able to freely register for classes. This accelerated the process from 5 days to 4 minutes.

In addition, Softline helped UniMinuto 's partner, the Eudite University of Technology in Africa from Côte d'Ivoire, reproduce the deployed solution. In June 2020, students at this university were unable to continue their studies due to the instability of the IT infrastructure. Because of this, the university was three months behind the curriculum. Softline and UniMinuto together helped students and teachers of Eudite University resume classes in just 2 weeks.

The TotalVoice solution introduced by Softline helped UniMinuto return to its goal of accelerating social progress in Colombia. Teachers, administration and students were given the opportunity to master Microsoft technologies, which, in turn, allowed UniMinuto to ensure equal opportunities for all social strata. Now UniMinuto continues to conduct classes in a completely remote or hybrid format, in which students from any region with limited resources can develop critical thinking skills, creativity, independence of judgment, flexibility of mind and determination.

We have rethought the approach to interaction with students. Our classes didn't stop for a day. We overcame all obstacles, and even during quarantine, training and communication continued. noted by representatives of UniMinuto