Technology solutions to benefit Students and Institutes alike

Gregory J Dukat,
Chairman and CEO,
Campus Management

Having partnered with leading international institutions like Indiana University, the University of Illinois, and several others, Campus Management for Higher Education, is now making inroads into the Indian market. Gregory J Dukat, Chairman and CEO, Campus Management, highlights opportunities and challenges in the domain. In conversation with Chhavi Bakaria

Please share with us key points that differentiate Campus Management from its competitors?
The education market in India has become more competitive. Students have more choice about which university or college they are going to. Thus, the institutions across the country are looking at tools like our technology to improve students’ experience, as technology brings in higher transparency, and improves governance and efficiency.

If we look at education specifically, Campus Management is among the few end-to-end technology platform providers operating on a global scale. Admission process is the number one problem in India given the sheer numbers, but our admission process management is a lot more streamlined. We offer other services like digital marketing, alumni management, learning services, etc. Also, the flexibility that is inherent with our system to deal with multi-campus operations and to deal with different types of course curriculums being offered has been one of the hallmarks that distinguishes us from others.
Also from students’ point our tools like Smart Card, wireless network for campus, student self-service portal, student portal applications and an interactive website are becoming quite popular. Now the students can decide how they want to communicate with the institute whether that is an e-mail, chat, social media etc.

Can you give examples of Indian educational institutes who have benefited from Talisma’s CRM?
Premier institutions like Manipal University and other private and government universities are using Talisma CRM. We are also the technology platform provider for National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). So, the skill-based education is one of our core strengths that we bring to the table from a systems stand point.

How has the adoption of technology been in higher learning institutions across the country, and what are the challenges?
Educational institutions across the country are implementing technology to streamline functioning and improve students’ experience. The adoption of technology in India is growing, but I think the big problem in Indian institutes in general is their receptiveness to technology. Even if there is intent at the top level, but at the lowest level you do not have the same level of receptiveness in implementing technology. The teachers or professors are interested in technology and we have imparted trainings on biometric, Smart card access, etc. So yes, I would say, it’s getting better and there is a large untapped opportunity in that ecosystem of education.

What is your product strategy to penetrate the Indian education market?
India is a complex market. Each institution has its own level of complexity. We have come up with two product strategies. First we have an SME product that addresses the colleges including engineering colleges and we call it the SmartCampus. We have different financing models to lower the upfront investments of the institutes. In the SmartCampus offering institutes can come in at as low as Rs 1000 per student, per year. Another segment is the university sector for our enterprise product called CampusVue. So we have clearly distinctive products for each of these categories and that’s how we are going ahead from a strategy stand point

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