The Benefits of Intelligent Automation in Higher Education

Category : Education
Trends in Higher Education
By SHEENA SHARMA

2022 has ushered in massive digital transformations with innovative technologies peaking in their adoption rates. The education sector has welcomed these changes with open arms. The education sector is all set to reorient itself, shake off traditional methods that no longer work, and evolve its offerings to meet the new age demands.

Trends in higher education show the widespread use of technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Automation, AR, and VR. Educational Institutes are adopting them to increase academic learning and skill development for early learners and higher education students.

Technology is enabling a Shift to the Knowledge Economy

Higher education is slowly gravitating towards decentralization and democratization. There is a greater role for inclusivity and equity in education. This implies that the focus is shifting towards learning outcomes and skill enhancement.

Education is no longer being packaged as a mass product where one size fits all. It is moving towards personalization and student-focused pedagogies. Time and process are not important functions in the new-age education landscape. Self-paced learning is the new mantra. The focus is on achieving a higher learning index and consequentially better job performance skills.

A knowledge economy relies heavily on a skilled and educated workforce, strong communication and collaboration, and a culture that encourages innovation. As businesses evolve and new work roles emerge, students must be equipped with the necessary skills to work in the new business ecosystem.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has stated that higher education, vocational training, and soft skills like teamwork and good communication are essential to function in a knowledge economy.

The United Nations releases a Global Knowledge Index Metric, which scores countries on contributing factors toward a knowledge economy.

Currently, Switzerland tops the Index, followed by Sweden and the USA. Some of the metrics include

  • The State of Education
  • Technical and Vocational Training
  • Innovations
  • Information and Communication Technology

Knowledge specialists pass on their research and findings to use in more conventional ways. For example- techno-medical procedures like robotic surgeries or learning management systems, remote learning methods, etc.

Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Automation along with VR for higher education are key technologies driving positive changes in higher education. They are helping institutes cater to the demands of the knowledge economy and help serve the learning needs of the next generation of workers.

The Role and Benefits of Intelligent Automation in Higher Education

Automation is a handy tool to enhance the student and teacher experience. Automation can manage routine administrative tasks and free up faculty to focus on more creative and student-centric interactions. Administrators can be empowered to streamline processes, become more efficient, and improve productivity while lowering costs. Automation can bring efficiency to the way that education staff and faculty work and recommend better learning experiences for students.

Automating Administrative Workflows

Routine administrative tasks in many departments consume staff time and keep them occupied with paperwork. Higher education colleges and universities deal with many student enrolments every year. Tasks such as record-keeping and student management are important but also time-consuming. Intelligent Automation can help streamline these activities. Other areas include

Administration – Registration, record keeping, Admissions, departmental coordination, student management, etc.

  • Library and Information – Research, cataloging
  • Human resource management – Staff development and training
  • Marketing and PR – Promotion, alumni, community
  • Student welfare and support – Counselling, Career advice, Support for special needs and international student
  • Health and safety – Welfare and Safety

Automating Lesson Plans

Educational institutes are leveraging the benefits of classroom technology to create, follow, and update their lesson plans. This allows remote teaching and learning. Moreover, teachers can plan lessons using various media like text, audio, video, animated, infographics, live screening, etc. Teachers can prepare their lessons before classes, and students get a variety of instruction methods, which helps increase their engagement with the content.

Automating Enrolments

With the help of automation technology, the enrolment process, transcripts, and paperwork submissions can be made online. Students can get access to all details required for the process, financial aid, etc., and the system can ensure that all necessary information is provided. This helps save time and resources as well.

Automated Assessments

Teachers spend a considerable amount of time checking and grading papers and assignments. With the help of Cognitive and Intelligent Automation and AI technology, teachers can ease the process and allow for a more precise and accurate assessment. Students, too, benefit from personalized feedback and academic analysis. This allows teachers to focus on what they do best- mentor and build youth through their teachings.

Automating Student Profile Checks

Domestic and International students’ profile checks and visa validations are essential to admission protocols. Intelligent Automation Process can seamlessly automate and handle these routine checks. Students can also get their doubts resolved 24/7.

Meetings Scheduler

Planning, scheduling, and organizing meetings is a time-consuming job. Automation updates and invites can be pre-scheduled to ensure smooth event flow coordination.

Concluding Thoughts

Intelligent Automation as a trend in higher education offers many advantages. Advanced workflow automation technology can do away with manual paperwork and ensure transparency and efficiency. It can take the load off universities to deal with cumbersome documentation and age-old practices of record and bookkeeping.

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