2023 EdTechX Award Winner Spotlight — IU Group
A conversation with Dr. Sven Schütt, CEO of IU Group
The EdTechX Leviathan Award is a prestigious recognition that celebrates the significant contributions of mature and profitable businesses that play a leading role in shaping the future of digital learning and skill development. This year, IU Group was honoured to receive this award, lauding their exponential growth and dedication to leveraging technology to empower individuals globally with highly personalized education.
We spoke to CEO, Dr. Sven Schütt to learn more about the company’s visionary approach to education and how they are revolutionizing the learning landscape.
Can you tell us about your background and introduce IU Group?
I am a learning enthusiast with a diverse academic and professional background. I obtained my degree in physics and philosophy before pursuing a PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, focusing on Learning, Development, and Data Science. Prior to my current role at IU, I served as the Managing Director of the Hertie School of Governance. Additionally, I gained valuable experience working at the German public employment service and also spent time at McKinsey.
When I joined IU approximately 13 years ago, we were a modest brick and mortar university with approximately 1,000 students. Thanks to the dedication of our great team, we have made significant strides towards our vision of democratizing education, now boasting over 100,000 students, making IU International University of Applied Sciences the largest university in Germany. Our success is driven by our commitment to leveraging technology to provide personalized education options, including dual studies, distance learning, and myStudies, which combines online and face-to-face events. This unique approach allows students to design their studies independently while benefiting from a digitally supported learning environment.
What is IU Group’s mission and what is your vision for the company?
IU’s mission is to empower people around the globe with the most personalized education. This is the driving factor behind IU’s online education approach, resulting in a remarkable increase in student enrollment, now surpassing 100,000. The strong and sustained growth can be directly attributed to IU’s vision that everybody can access education to grow. With the integration of AI, innovative technologies, and flexible learning options, IU aims to elevate the global education landscape to new heights, working to democratize education on a global scale.
What strategic milestones have you achieved so far and what are your ambitions for the next 5–10 years?
In recent years, IU has experienced exponential growth, evident not only in student numbers, but also in the advancement of our internal systems. As a result, we take pride in offering a vertically integrated education platform that boasts the most extensive array of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs worldwide, totaling over 200 accredited courses available in both German and English. Our commitment to excellence extends to our collaborations with more than 15,000 enterprises, actively supporting them in talent development, particularly in high-demand fields such as business administration, data & artificial intelligence, and technology.
Our strategic roadmap for the upcoming years is focused on becoming the world’s largest global higher education provider, dedicated to delivering the best individual outcomes by 2026. To achieve this vision, we will focus on five key objectives:
1. Revolutionize personalized learning: Optimize operations, promote a fulfilling learning experience, and integrate formal and informal learning and assessments to achieve higher individual learning outcomes and foster a greater willingness to grow.
2. Establish ourselves as the first choice for learners in DACH (German speaking regions): IU is already Germany’s largest university and will partner with 40,000 corporate partners to foster individual careers, become the market leader in all study formats, and optimize learning approaches through NLP.
3. Become the top choice for affordable study globally: We will recruit over 150,000 new international students by 2026 and offer degrees in major languages worldwide.
4. Be the preferred partner for universities and educational institutions: We will provide scalable solutions for educators globally and become the partner of choice for governments seeking to scale their degree education system.
5. Build the most scalable education platform globally: We will minimize costs using technology, establish modular and adaptive architecture, and foster an entrepreneurial culture to scale via our own and other brands.
By aligning our actions with these strategic objectives, we can solidify IU’s position as a pioneering force in the global education landscape, revolutionizing personalized learning, and making high-quality education accessible to learners worldwide.
In your view, what makes online education effective?
At IU, we focus on higher education for working adults as well as high school leavers. In the current fast-paced world, these learners are seeking a customizable education that fits their needs. Online education allows us to offer students just that — the most personalized and flexible education model. With IU’s comprehensive online study format, learners benefit from unparalleled flexibility and accessibility. This platform allows students to access course materials, participate in classes, and take exams from any location and at any time, accommodating diverse schedules and learning preferences. Furthermore, with personalized learning approaches and interactive content, online courses can tailor the learning experience to individual needs, encouraging self-directed learning skills, instilling self-discipline, and keeping learners engaged and motivated.
What differentiates IU Group from other digital platforms working in the same space?
We are different from our competitors as we create a unique, digitally enhanced learning environment for our students, embracing technology and allowing for personalized education at scale. IU has established a strong foundation that allows us to continuously test and innovate. With our robust technology, platform infrastructure, and dedicated academics, we possess the agility to adapt swiftly and incorporate new programs seamlessly. We listen to input from students, prospective students, alumni, employers and governments to ensure course content is and stays relevant. Whenever a new approach shows promising results, we promptly test it and, if proven effective, implement it without delay. This dynamic mindset and agile capability enable us to trailblaze in the field of education and effectively address the evolving demands of society.
Moreover, we are leveraging the power of AI throughout our entire value chain, propelling us to be at the forefront among academic institutions in this space. We take pride in being the first to launch GPT-driven teaching bots, enabling personalized education experiences for our students. AI has the potential to revolutionize education, offering superior outcomes through a contemporary approach that surpasses traditional methods. Our commitment to leveraging this technology places us in a unique position to profoundly enhance the overall student experience, ushering in a new era of education.
From your perspective, what trends will shape the future of education and what role will technology play?
The biggest and most important trend is the evolution of AI and specifically GPT technology. We are experiencing the most fundamental disruption since the combined invention of the computer and the launch of the internet. This will mark the biggest step towards our mission to empower people with the most personalized education, making education more affordable and accessible to all. Through this endeavor, we continue to be committed to democratizing education and creating opportunities for learners to thrive and reach their full potential.
We believe there are 10 holy grails of education that AI can help to solve:
- Affordable education: High costs are a significant barrier to accessing higher education for many students, particularly in countries like the United States. AI has the potential to uncover innovative solutions to provide affordable, high-quality education which could be a game-changer for countless students
- Personalized learning: Each student has unique learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses. Creating an adaptive learning system that personalizes education for each student based on AI could drastically improve learning outcomes
- Skill gap: There is often a gap between the skills taught in higher education and those demanded by employers. Bridging this gap by aligning education with industry needs would significantly improve employability of graduates
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Despite progress, higher education still struggles with issues of representation and inclusivity. Solutions that ensure equitable access and support for all students, regardless of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, or disability, would be transformative
- Life-long learning: As the pace of change accelerates, the concept of education as a one-time event is becoming outdated. Developing systems that support continuous, lifelong learning would be greatly beneficial in the modern world
- Assessment reform: Traditional forms of assessment often fail to capture a student’s full range of abilities and potential. Innovative, holistic approaches to assessment could provide a more accurate reflection of a student’s capabilities
- Cultivating critical thinking: While many courses aim to develop critical thinking skills, truly achieving this at scale is difficult. AI can help to consistently foster critical thinking in all courses, which would be transformative
- Growth mindset and learning how to learn: Engendering a deep, intrinsic motivation to learn in students is a complex challenge, but if solved, it could drastically enhance students’ engagement and academic outcomes
- Integration of theory and practice: Often, there’s a gap between academic theory and real-world practice. A system that seamlessly integrates these two elements could better prepare students for post-graduation life
- Interdisciplinary learning: The world’s problems are increasingly complex and interconnected, requiring knowledge across multiple fields. A higher education system that truly fosters interdisciplinary learning would be a significant step forward
How has IU been transforming online education and student interaction with online tools in the past?
IU International University of Applied Sciences has always been at the forefront of innovation in online education. Students benefit from robust technological support, enabling them to pursue their studies at their preferred time, location, and pace. The learning content is made available through diverse channels, comprising both synchronous and asynchronous elements. This includes access to discussion boards, the flexibility to take exams round the clock, and the option to start courses on any day of the year. Moreover, in case of interruptions to their studies, IU’s adaptive learning model breaks down their existing knowledge into smaller chunks, helping them to re-engage with the subject matter.
What has changed in this approach? How does IU use AI-powered tools for teaching and learning?
In pursuit of our mission to empower people around the globe with the most personalized education, we initiated early developments using large language models (LLMs) and GPT over two years ago, laying the groundwork for the project Syntea. Syntea, an AI-driven learning buddy, has already been made accessible to over 10,000 students and will soon be extended for use by all IU students. It is designed to enable personalized student interaction and enhance learning outcomes, offering a range of powerful features, including a question-answering tool, Exam Trainer, Socratic Teaching, and Future Skills Training.
We are proud to be at the forefront of the AI-enhanced learning revolution. We are committed to fostering critical thinking and adaptability among our students and empowering learners globally with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in an ever-evolving workforce. By continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible with AI technology in higher education, we remain dedicated to providing our students with the best possible learning experience, ensuring their success now and in the future.
Discover the full list of 2023 EdTechX Award winners here.
