Mumbai, April 2020: With COVID-19 bringing the world to a standstill, universities all over the world are racing to adapt their programs and classes to online alternatives. Not all online learning systems are the same and caught unaware, a majority of universities have resorted to using whatever technology is available to them. In this landscape, S P Jain School of Global Management has become a game-changer of sorts using its own proprietary Engaged Learning Online (ELO) technology which was developed in anticipation of the need for high quality and customised online education.
ELO is a high-end online learning system that replicates a live classroom down to its last detail. Along similar lines are Harvard’s HBX and Oxford’s HIVE. The ELO studio is set up with a robotic tracking camera for the faculty. This allows them 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. A big advantage is also that ELO engages even those students who wouldn’t participate in an on-campus classroom discussion.
Speaking of this technology, Mr. Nitish Jain, President, SP Jain, shares, “Like most industries, technology is shaping the way we live and experience things. Unlike Zoom, Google Hangout or other popular video conferencing 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. Our students deserve – no matter where in the world they are – to continue to experience the dynamism and engagement of an SP Jain classroom, safely and comfortably.
Over 2,000 students from 20 countries have experienced this technology in the past four weeks and the experience has been fantastic. To see 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.”
SP Jain’s ELO technology was launched in late 2018 with the objective of making its internationally recognised MBA program accessible to working professionals who wouldn’t have the flexibility of pursuing an on-campus program. Following its success within the EMBA, the School expanded its ELO offering to include executive education programs as well as short courses for working professionals across the globe.
