New ways of learning
ROle- lead service designer
Client - RMIT University
The problem
Due the arrival of COVID-19 early in 2020, universities faced the unprecedented challenge to quickly mobilise their delivery experience into an online environment. The ramification this disruption created was impacting familiar ways of teaching and learning, and decreasing satisfaction in the experience of students, academics and staff at RMIT University.
The opportunity
To explore and understand pain points and opportunities on tertiary online education -with a focus on international students. The better understanding of both negative and positive aspects in the new learning environment to define the starting point to re-shape the the future of education.
The solution
The proposed solution included a set of recommendations including identified key themes -aspects to consider in the short term to balance the international student experience in a new world.
The project also delivered as a set recommendations and priority areas to consider in the middle and long term.
A set of infographics were also developed and distributed across the community to be used as a conversation starter to re-think and co-design the delivery of education post COVID19 era.
Project objectives
To uncover the barriers and disadvantages to online learning for international students, the project set three exploratory objectives:
To validate prospective student sentiment about online learning in the COVID-19 context.
To understand how current students experienced the online transition, including advantages and barriers to online learning.
To validate alumni student sentiment about online learning in COVID-19 context.
Methodology
In order to address the research questions, the study conducted primary and secondary research including a review of industry reports and academic papers, review of existing RMIT research in the topic areas, synthesis of the current body of knowledge, contextual interviews with students, external agents and academics, and design and roll-out of an online questionnaire targeted to current and alumni international student segments.
Project Findings
The findings of the study provide insight into the current body of knowledge, including the impact of COVID-19 on student sentiment and experiences. The output of this research has been distilled into 21 recommendations which were categorised into three themes:
Product Promise: What drives students to choose a country, a university and a program of study, and what they expect as part of the package offer.
Product Delivery: How students prefer their package to be delivered, and to identify additional proposition.
Product Experience: How students experience the purchased package and additional challenges and wins they find once the experience becomes a reality.
TEAM MOBILITY
Facing the challenge of working remotely with a team of academics, designers and students located in different countries, we set online tools that replaced wall boards and meetings, adapting user-centred methods to an online environment and to co-design solutions as part of a collaborative team.
Project Outcomes
Several artefacts were developed targeting different internal stakeholders, including reports, infographics and project summaries that were circulated among the community.
Research poster -Infographic that includes project objectives, findings and recommendations.
Infographic - The visual map represents the set of recommendations to be circulated to specific audiences.
Project report - A detail document including project process and approach, methods, findings, recommendations and implementation map.