Poly has announced that Télécom Paris, a leading French higher education institution, an Institut Mines-Télécom (IMT) school, and a founding member of Polytechnic Institute of Paris, has implemented a broad range of Poly unified communications (UC) solutions for digital transformation, and to connect 600 staff and 1,350 students across the institute’s Paris campus.
In 2019, Télécom Paris moved to a large, new 46,000 square meter building complex in IMT’s Saclay campus near Paris, and the school continued to provide distance learning to international students based in China, Japan, Russia, Senegal and more. The institute embarked upon a digital transformation journey to connect its students and staff, no matter where they happen to be located, and to enable hybrid learning.
The digital transformation challenge was two-fold: to connect students and staff within the large campus, and to connect international students with the local staff remotely. It was important that the solution was interoperable with all other technology being used at the institute to avoid technical setbacks for ongoing online lectures, coursework allocation, and administrative staff meetings.
Poly Group 500 systems are used for the smaller rooms/spaces, and Poly Group 700 systems, with a cascading array of Poly EagleEye Director II cameras, equip the larger spaces, such as boardrooms and auditoriums. A wide range of other Poly solutions, software, and accessories brings everything together for Télécom Paris.
“Video conferencing and streaming are tools for distance learning and inter-site collaboration that we have mastered for a long time at Télécom Paris. We connect our network of staff and students nationally and internationally. Poly solutions were selected for the new buildings in order to boost our resources. The hybrid learning approach is highly appreciated by the students in particular, given the pandemic era of COVID-19. For our staff, remote working is an enabler that allows business continuity. Video conferencing is now at the heart of our new futuristic work practices,” said Alain Boniol, CIO at Télécom Paris.
“Education is important and, whether there is a pandemic or not, future generations need to be setup for success. Working together with Télécom Paris, we are enhancing learning experiences for the engineering school students and connecting students and staff by building effective learning environments that are technology-enabled,” said Fabrice Berthelot, France sales director at Poly.
While the pandemic era of COVID-19 presented an unfortunate challenge that no one in the world had ever seen before, Télécom Paris was prepared for the unprecedented. In keeping with France’s lockdown measures, Télécom Paris continued delivering the much-needed education online. As the restrictions lifted, a hybrid combination of onsite and offsite lessons was introduced, thanks to the recently implemented Poly technology.
Lessons have been held with fewer than half of the students onsite and the rest attending remotely – a true hybrid learning in action. The institute’s staff also adopted a hybrid working approach for meetings, where a combination of onsite and offsite participation enabled collaboration, and this kept the institute’s social distancing and sanitizing protocol active.
Following on from Télécom Paris’ success, the implementation of Poly solutions continues in the network of IMT schools, including at Lille and Douai sites. Poly Group 500 systems are extending the collaboration capacity of the schools’ amphitheatres and classrooms for group collaboration. This investment is part of the digital harmonization project of IMT’s video conferencing solutions.
