Digital migration shapes new best practice in edutech space

With more and more content moving online, learners, educators and funders are starting to shift their preferences towards “owning” and managing their learning journey, roles and contributions on digital platforms too. Convenience, visibility and efficiency are driving this digital migration – creating opportunities for players like Fundi to shape new best practice in this “behind-the-scenes” space.

While Covid-19 has challenged many industries to rethink their relevance and applicability, it’s also forced individuals to reconsider the best use of both their time and their money. This is especially true when it comes to education. “Even though these were always drivers in the learning and education space, we’ve seen players across the sector start demanding a ‘single view’ of their journey and experience,” notes Nduduzo Majozi, CIO of Fundi. “They want a clear line of sight when it comes to where they’re going, and what their options look like. And, in the context of institutions and bursary fund managers, they want to better understand results: the contributors; the inhibitors; and what can drive improvement. In short, they want to control their experience.”

This makes what is happening behind-the-scenes as exciting as some of the more visible new trends towards online learning, according to Majozi. It’s also forced rapid innovation and investment to meet – and exceed – expectations. “At Fundi for example, we’ve now created a ‘single view’ for our customers, and given them a ‘complete’ user experience from one space. Students can view their profiles across multiple platforms in a single place. This means that a FundiCard student who also has a loan, can access all their information from one platform. They can apply for new services online, check their balances and view their allocations for instance. In a similar way, corporate customers now have a single view of their Fundi relationship – with dashboards that enable easy reporting and tracking. They can view all student interactions, allowing for easier reconciliations. Our new App has been a pivotal part of this. It can be downloaded and offers the same services as our website.”

While all of this might be considered expected in the financial solutions space, Majozi emphasises that this is education. “What we’re seeing here and delivering on has not been done before in this way locally. Bursary solution management for example, has never been designed as a seamless wrap-around solution from start to finish. Fund managers haven’t been able to do everything from recruit beneficiaries online to manage learnerships. In this way, we’re driving new best practice. We want to set the bar for meaningful learning journeys for all stakeholders in the system – delivering on their specific strategic objectives whilst, and most importantly, growing individuals, communities and our country through the power of education.”

Investing in the latest tech for its platforms is a key part of Fundi’s digital transformation strategy; ensuring ongoing relevance in this increasingly dynamic marketplace whilst enabling the imperative of access to education. “We’ve chosen to build our offering in-house, leveraging our team of developers and testers. This means that the solutions used by young people have been developed for them by young people adding a fresh new dimension to the work.”

While privacy and data security are non-negotiables, ongoing data analysis will be used to identify both needs and trends across stakeholder groups. “This will keep us responsive in terms of reimagining solutions to speak to realities on the ground. Before students look for a new feature on the App, we must already have engineered it for example. This involves adopting – and adapting – best practice from non-related sectors, making it a very exciting time.”

Built on OSS to be cloud-based, improving reliability and availability, Fundi’s new App has already seen significant uptake – especially as university students return to campuses. “The bursary management system is also proving of benefit to corporates, as many of them continue driving cost and time-efficiencies with staff still working from home. We’re currently inviting trial of the system by prospective clients too, giving them a taste of the possibilities, including around impact reporting.”

With change and positive disruption set to remain constants in 2021, edutech will be a sector to watch well into the future. “As AI and machine learning unlock new opportunities across industries, expect edutech to be an early adopter and keep pushing boundaries of best practice,” says Majozi. “Young development teams like the ones at Fundi will undoubtedly assist in this process – acting as the bridge between demand and solution supply. In this way students and their funders will keep benefiting from the latest tech offerings throughout their learning journeys; a real positive for all of us.”