The Laureate International Universities network is redefining the future of higher education through technology-led innovation, offering a robust global network of learning opportunities and industry connections to prepare students to thrive as global leaders. The network comprises over 25 higher education institutions and more than 875,000 students.

Business challenge

Laureate’s network of international universities has been rapidly expanding. The university wanted to provide a better student experience and reduce the time students spent searching for information. Everything ranging from registering for courses, applying for financial aid, to finding university resources, could all be done securely through automated self-service on mobile devices. Introducing a virtual assistant that students could utilize on the go would provide them with easy and immediate access to information at any time of day. 

Transformation

Laureate was always a technologically savvy university, but introducing a virtual assistant required a higher level of involvement and adoption of new practices. Laureate started by setting up a “Center Of Excellence” in offices across the United States, Mexico, and Latin America. The ultimate goal was to take a virtual assistant live at ten universities across North, Central and South America. Working with Avaamo, the team held meetings twice a week to review concerns and  challenges on issues including language translation, integrations, and data. 

Results

Within its first six months of deployment, the Avaamo virtual student assistant successfully answered more than 1 million student queries. Over 75,000 enrolled students actively use the virtual assistant to request official transcripts, get answers to questions regarding financial aid eligibility, and more. The university is now looking to roll out additional student services assistants across additional universities.