Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

With its cloud-enabled Smart Campus, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), a research-intensive public university ranked among the world’s best universities, has joined with Microsoft to drive innovation and shape the future of education. Thanks to a digital-first approach and the utilisation of technologies such as Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams Phone, NTU Singapore is ready to accelerate innovation and succeed in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

As of January 2022, NTU has successfully converted over 2,600 fixed phone numbers to the Microsoft Teams Phone system. With the cloud-based phone system, calls become richer and more collaborative, as NTU employees can make and receive calls on their business number from all their internet-enabled devices, while using the same tool they use to chat and host video meetings. In addition to cost savings for the University, employees remain productive, as they can also seamlessly transfer their calls across multiple devices, including laptops, PCs, tablets and mobile phones.

When NTU launched Microsoft 365, which includes Microsoft Teams Phone, in 2019, the cloud-based phone system was used, allowing for hybrid learning and distant work. The University successfully transitioned from over 1,000 in-person sessions weekly to online learning for 30,000 students in one week during the peak of the pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, thanks to the migration to Microsoft 365.

Ms Tan Aik Na, Senior Vice President for Administration at NTU Singapore said, “Innovation has always been core to the University’s DNA. This digital transformation in partnership with Microsoft marks a significant milestone in our commitment to embrace a culture of innovation, promote maximum efficiency, foster sustainability and improving the lives of our students and employees through empowered learning and living experiences.”

Technology plays a key role in powering the 200-hectare campus, which includes a living lab of digital experiments – from running an autonomous electric bus to testing drones for Singapore’s airspace. This forms part of the global university’s 2025 vision in equipping its Smart Campus with cloud-first technology and agile infrastructure. As the university adapted to respond, recover and reimagine its future during the pandemic, NTU Singapore partnered with Microsoft to create and sustain an environment that fosters flexibility and innovation on and off-campus.

“Fostering a culture of continuous learning in the education sector for our future is key as we keep pace with global changes that shape our education sector in Singapore. Universities like NTU Singapore are stepping in the right direction as they accelerate their digital learning ambitions, embrace change, transform our education system and ensure the readiness of our future workforce,” said Lum Seow Khun, Director, Public Sector Group, Microsoft Singapore.

Embracing trusted technology for quality learning and teaching experiences
Before the onset of the pandemic, the institution marked its first step in cloud enablement, having embraced online collaboration and communications by adopting Microsoft 365. This foresight enabled NTU Singapore to swiftly adapt to changes brought on by the pandemic, and allowed the university to pursue uninterrupted learning and teaching experiences through virtual meetings and online lessons on Teams during the nationwide lockdown in April 2020.

As they worked from the comfort of their own homes, the institution recognised the necessity of seamless collaboration between instructors and students. NTU Singapore’s implementation of Microsoft 365 increases the University’s future readiness while developing student-centric learning environments, paving the way for a future of education where agility is the standard.

“We previously deployed Microsoft 365 to enable productivity on an intelligent and secure cloud,” said Alvin Ong, Chief Information Officer at NTU Singapore. “As it turned out, Microsoft 365 became indispensable during the COVID-19 circuit breaker season and now serves as the foundation for hybrid learning and teaching experiences that benefit both our faculty and our students.”

Connecting the NTU community – anytime and anywhere
Another aspect that allowed NTU Singapore to quickly adapt to remote teaching and learning experiences was Microsoft Teams Phone, a cloud-based phone system add-on for Microsoft 365 that connects local landlines to Teams accounts. With the help of Teams Calling, a modern voice platform built on Microsoft Cloud, campus staff were able to take calls on their Teams-integrated mobile phones, allowing them to make and receive calls from anywhere – including their desk and video phone, mobile phone, computer, or modern Teams displays.

By eliminating the need for existing physical phone infrastructure, NTU Singapore enjoyed cost savings in equipment, maintenance, and international call costs from cross-border research centre projects and the provision of online exams and classes for stranded students overseas.

IT managers used Microsoft Teams and other integrated tools within the platform to create an asset tracking system for IT asset reviews and pre-emptive checks to be conducted more efficiently, in line with NTU Singapore’s 2025 vision of harnessing the power of digital technology to enhance learning, teaching, and research. The university can now devote more resources to higher-value tasks and innovation, advancing the institution’s overall goal of becoming future-ready, flexible, and resilient.

Facilitating change by empowering users
With varying departments and different ways of working, NTU Singapore needed a flexible solution that could meet diverse needs from campus staff to local and foreign students. To address this, the institution opted for Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams Phone as it catered to two extreme types of users.

These include tech-savvy professors who can program software and non-technical administrators who need simple tools like email and instant messaging. NTU Singapore also employed flight path planning, a friction-reducing strategy to help users embrace technology that could enhance their campus experiences.

Transforming and shaping the future of education in Singapore
Beyond Microsoft Teams Phone and Microsoft 365, the university plans to roll out its new cloud-based student management system built on Microsoft Azure, among other ongoing initiatives to leverage technology like chatbots and AI. “With a partner like Microsoft, we are confident of achieving our ambitious agenda in our NTU Singapore 2025 vision,” said Alvin Ong.

With a successful user-empowered change management program and cloud enablement roadmap in place, the digitally connected university is well-equipped to realise its 2025 vision, leading the way in fueling innovation while shaping the future of education.

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