SKEMA Brazil’s head, Geneviève Poulingue, explains: "The school's practice was quickly changed to follow official guidelines but also because we believe that social distancing is a civic act, of respect to society and to our students and collaborators. We are an innovative organisation and we have specialised staff - this has made us successful in this transition. We have the best teachers and they are managing to maintain SKEMA's teaching standards. Our students are also maintaining their high standards too.”
In addition to expanding the use of SKEMA’s K2 (online teaching/knowledge platform) system that was already used to supplement classes, the Office 365 application is being used as well as Microsoft Teams, which is a collaborative platform that allows students to work remotely and easily in teams.
Gabriel Nargalith, a BBA student says that SKEMA has been able to adapt well to the changes and pass all this on to the students as well: "These are difficult times, but the classes have been going well. The system we are using is very good, we managed to make a quick delivery. On our last day in person, SKEMA gave us training to use Teams and the adaptation was smooth. The challenge at the beginning was to organise for each one to have their own speaking time, but we agreed to leave the microphones off during classes, and when we have something to talk about, we'll let you know in the chat and open the microphone. It's been working so well in class and for group work.
Priscila Malaguti, coordinator and professor of SKEMA's BBA in Brazil says she has received lots of positive feedback: "Comments from students and families approving our agility and quality give us the confidence that we can guarantee teaching standards in any circumstance".
According to Poulingue, confinement has been a time to make analyses and plan changes for the future. "In education we have a responsibility to develop knowledge and interactions. We have to be innovative and open students’ minds to think creatively. We are studying, sharing knowledge, seeing projects... And, I know that after this crisis, SKEMA will lead by sharing new experiences and knowledge.”