Cisco Partners ISB to Create India’s First Digitally Intuitive Campus

Around the world, schools and universities are transforming the way they teach, share, organize, prepare and research — and this transformation is extending to the management of facilities, transportation, and security. As the future of education unfolds, institutions are being forced to rethink their traditional models of learning, research, administration and student life.  

In line with its commitment to help students connect, learn and succeed in the digital age, the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad (ISB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nasdaq-listed Cisco to build India’s first truly Digitally intuitive Campus. The MoU was signed by Dr. Rajendra Srivastava, Dean, ISB and Sameer Garde, President, Cisco India & SAARC.

ISB’s Digital Campus is based on Cisco’s highly secure core network, unified voice, video, and wireless communications and lays the framework for connected campuses, empowered educators, informed administrators and students who will have the tools they need for success in a digital world. The framework will allow ISB to –

• Enhance the quality of teaching and learning: With Cisco's Connected Classroom solutions which leveragesCisco’s networking and collaboration solutions like WebEx Boards, students can understand how they learn best: anywhere, anytime, and on any device. Whether on or off-campus or in a flipped classroom model, students and educators have highly secure access to educational resources, using their smartphones, tablets and other connected devices.

• Boost student engagement and retention: Involvio, the world’s leading student engagement platform is integrated with Cisco Webex and Wi-Fi solutions to offer a suite of tools and dashboards for better student engagement.  The integrated solution will allow ISB to leverage the power of mobility to improve access to campus resources, create opportunities for seamless communication and intervention, and track student engagement and attendance automatically.

• Better Manage Campus facilities: By utilizing pervasive Wi-Fi access, sensors, analytics, context, and location-based services and digital signage, ISB can enable higher levels of operational efficiency to campus administration and management, including smart lighting and connected vehicles, while allowing a more in-depth view into building efficiencies, student behavior, and security. Cisco Connected Campus provides extensive network analytics so that can help administrators make data-driven decisions while managing facilities, lighting, parking and transportation.

• Foster global connections, support innovation, and research: A Digital Campus gives researchers, faculty, and students the tools they need to connect and collaborate seamlessly, on campus and around the world.  It can also support new online learning experiences, global collaboration and rich consumption with virtual classrooms. It will empower students to learn on demand from any location, eliminating the boundaries that limit their ability to learn.

Dr Rajendra Srivastava, Dean, Indian School of Business, said that the digital transformation in the education sector is indeed a must to address the challenges pertaining to technological disruption. The future of jobs is strongly connected with digital transformation, and in the context, the delivery of education must have a strong digital content. They are excited to have this important MoU with Cisco and this will surely be a move towards digital education in India, he said.    

Sameer Garde, President, Cisco India & SAARC, said that they are delighted to collaborate with ISB to shape the future of digital education in India.  Harnessing the power of digital and the internet, students today are no longer passive receivers of knowledge; but active designers of their learning experience. Forward-thinking educators understand this and are transforming the way they teach, share, research and manage their campuses. Now more than ever, three is an opportunity to shape well-rounded, highly skilled students who can meet the demands of an increasingly digital world, he said.