Building Ai Assisted Cloud Services For A New European University

Juha Eskelinen, Head of Digitalization, ECIU / Tampere University, and Johan Peterson, Enterprise IT-Architect, ECIU / Linköping University

Juha Eskelinen, Head of Digitalization, ECIU / Tampere University, and Johan Peterson, Enterprise IT-Architect, ECIU / Linköping University

New European University - ECIU

The European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) is a network of 13 institutions aiming to build a future-oriented European university. It focuses on solving societal challenges through innovative, entrepreneurial methods and offers research-based micro-credentials, personalized learning, and lifelong career opportunities at the European level. ECIU leverages technologies like AI and cloud services to create a hybrid learning and innovation space. With over 300,000 students and 46,000 staff, ECIU strives to empower its community to shape a better future for Europe and the world.

ECIU Vision and the need for Digital eXperience Platform

ECIU University’s vision for 2030 is to be a hybrid, digitally enabled space for learning and innovation, offering efficient, high-quality services through its own digital platform. The platform, named ECIU DXP (Digital eXperience Platform), was built from scratch without legacy systems, using Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power platform, and Azure services. The DXP development team in Linköping was led by senior project lead, Josefine Swahn and IT-Architect, Johan Peterson. Juha Eskelinen is heading the overall IT development and operations in ECIU.

Developing the DXP

Johan’s story of the DXP:

Imagine your CIO comes to you and asks you to build the entire IT infrastructure for a new Cloud-Based, Virtual University. What would you do? I took a deep breath and said, “Yes, of course!”.

I’m glad I did! This has been an amazing journey that we will never forget. We had the opportunity to create everything from scratch: architecture, processes and software. It’s been a huge challenge, but also a lot of fun!

We assembled a full-stack development team in Linköping, Sweden, with UX designers, frontend- and backend developers. We knew we couldn’t tackle such a big project without breaking it down into smaller pieces, so we did.

"ECIU leverages technologies like AI and cloud services to create a hybrid learning and innovation space."

Many workshops were held, both internally and with others to understand the needs and to build our backlog. We had to make many decisions, and we prioritized them to make sure that we were aligned with our stakeholders.

Early, we drew an entity diagram to map out what information we needed and how all data should be connected. We spent many creative hours in front of the whiteboard with colleagues, both in Linköping and in Aveiro, Portugal and Tampere, Finland.

The frontend application, The Engage platform, is our window to the world and where the learners will spend a lot of time. It needs to be modern, intuitive with and with easy navigation. We decided to create it from scratch in React and NodeJS.

The administrative application, The Conductor, is a custom-built application in Microsoft Dynamics 365. Before the project we have never worked with, nor even seen, Microsoft Dynamics 365. Now, two years later we have created lots of custom tables, Cloud flows in Power Automate, Canvas apps in Power Apps, and our own plugin.

The navigation, Learning Outcomes and the competence passport are built around the ECIU Skills and Competence Taxonomy, created by researchers in Tampere University. It’s based on the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11, sustainable cities and communities.

When a learner has finished an ECIU Learning Opportunity, the skills and competences are transferred to the learner’s competence passport. If a motivation scan also has been done, the competence passport includes a target set and goals of skills and competences. A flexible learning path will guide the learner from the current skills and competences to the goal.

Utilizing Microsoft Dynamics 365 strengths

We also wanted to utilize the full capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for standard processes, such as customer service and marketing. We implemented standard functionalities and processes for our multinational ServiceDesk and marketing functions.

Our service desk includes teams for IT, admissions, and mobility support, where IT resides in Aveiro, Portugal and the other teams are distributed among the member universities around the Europe.

Artificial Intelligence and DXP

ECIU University uses AI-assisted cloud services for personalized learning paths, understanding learners’ skills and competences in detail. It employs an ESCO-compatible skills taxonomy for both analysing learners and tagging learning opportunities.

The ECIU University has partnered with a Finnish company that specializes in AI solutions for skills and competencies analysis. The skills algorithm can assess the current skills and competencies of learners, as well as their motivations and interests, by analysing their digital footprints and learning portfolios. Based on this information, the AI algorithm can recommend the most suitable courses, modules, and projects for each learner, considering their learning objectives, preferences, and availability.

The ECIU University's AI-assisted cloud services are a pioneering example of how AI can transform higher education and empower learners to achieve their full potential. By providing personalized, flexible, and engaging learning opportunities, the ECIU University aims to prepare learners for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.