Distance Learning

French School Building Education Cloud for On-Demand Campuses

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 01/28/15

A business school based in France but with a campus in China as well is working with IBM to create a "smart business school" environment. Emlyon, with sites in Lyon, Saint-Etienne and Shanghai, hopes to deliver personalized education to its students through the cloud.

The initiative is designed to incorporate online and digital teaching materials, including "interactive" case studies, and use of data collection and analysis in research and program improvements.

"What we believe is genuinely new about this initiative is that it will allow us to deliver content and coaching that are absolutely relevant to each participant's needs and aspirations, wherever they are in the world and at every step on their career path," said Bernard Belletante, dean of Emlyon. "So, in a similar way that users today can cherry-pick their entertainment, our community will be able to choose when, where and how much it learns."

Emlyon anticipates the creation of an education platform that will allow for "on-demand pop-up" campuses in emerging areas, such as West Africa and other cities within China.

The new model is expected to go live in the second quarter of 2015.

Emlyon offers bachelor and graduate programs for business with a focus on entrepreneurialism.