Driven by Barco weConnect virtual classroom technology, Wilmington plc, a global provider of information, education, and networking services is transforming their training offering for the digital age.
As part of their digital transformation program, Wilmington plc needed a powerful solution to offer a highly engaging, broadcast-quality remote training experience to its more than 20,000 yearly participants around the world; and at the same time provide a seamless, user-friendly and more natural method of training to their instructors. The answer was, of course, Barco weConnect. Wilmington has chosen a weConnect virtual classroom for their offices in Birmingham (UK), that will benefit the businesses providing training and qualifications to their risk and compliance, healthcare and professional industries.
Investing to deliver differentiated training programs
The lucky ones to first use the platform are the International Compliance Association (ICA), which delivers expert training and qualifications to financial regulatory and compliance professionals. Tamara Kahn, Wilmington’s Compliance Divisional Director and Executive Director of the ICA, explains their position and why they chose weConnect: "This is a key part of ICA’s cutting-edge learning approach. We are investing heavily into our training programs to make sure they are engaging, effective and relevant to our learners."
Digitally transforming their training while keeping and even improving outcomes was top of the agenda since before the pandemic, which only confirmed their forward-thinking strategy.
Tamara continues: "We realized that to deliver truly impactful experiences online we needed to do something different. We started planning for our new digital classroom before the pandemic because we wanted to deliver truly impactful experiences. The last year has only strengthened that vision and resolve and we are delighted by the response from our students and trainers so far."
A true connection between the trainers and trainees
For trainers, weConnect is a game changer. It helped Wilmington´s trainers really see their audience, just like in a standard classroom. They no longer lose sight of their participants, but make an impact on every person, monitor and offer support whenever necessary, even in breakout rooms. They can now ensure their sessions are perfectly accurate and effective, a mandatory aspect when training subjects such as compliance.
As Tim Tyler, Head of Qualifications for ICA, mentions: "The trainers love it, they feel like they are taking part in a proper training event that is operating in three dimensions. We underestimate the importance of those nuances: being able to read the room, to understand the level of energy and interest from students by being able to see them very clearly life-size on screen. The participants can see the teacher in the same way as well, so it brings a new depth to the experience."
Innovative remote learning experience and ease of use
For participants too, it brings a whole new training experience. weConnect offers a rich, interesting and innovative learning environment through its powerful features (polls, quizzes, whiteboard and pins, enhanced breakout rooms etc.). It allows participants to fully engage in real-time with the content, their trainer and other participants in an immersive way that traditional methods do not support.
Additionally, it is a hassle-free solution, that effortlessly enables trainers to deliver high-quality, impactful learning sessions and successful outcomes. Thomas Mount, Group Chief Technology Officer, concurs: ´We have integrated the Barco weConnect studio with our learning management system to provide a seamless, single sign-in for ease of use. The early student feedback we have received is positive, with praise for the two-way interaction with the teacher and attendees, akin to traditional classrooms.´
