February 2017

16 APAC / February 2017 , 1702AP31 The Future of Technology in Education Veronica Reilly talks to us about her firmand the future of the industry within the APAC region. V Training Australia is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), a legally compliant education provider in Australia. Veronica Reilly tells us more about the firm and its client base. “This RTO registration permits us to conduct qualifications and other nationally accredited training programs, and we concentrate on delivering our courses online. “We also specialise in training design and development, including e-learning, and training delivery and using our expertise in project management to deliver these educational services. “Our clients range from the Australian Government to major corporations like Fuji Xerox, Toyota Financial Services, Manpower and Woolworths and to education providers like the University of Western Sydney, the University of Technology, Sydney, and Open Universities Australia.” Veronica embellishes to tell us about the firm’s overall mission and the steps taken to ensure it achieves its objectives. “Our mission is to expand our online Diploma of Business program and Diploma of Accounting program throughout Asia Pacific, commencing with China in 2017. “Australia is one of the most popular countries chosen by Chinese students to study a Diploma program as an alternate pathway to entering university while also building their English language skills. “V Training Australia can offer the same Diploma program to Chinese students from their home, without the need to travel to Australia to complete their Diploma. This saves an average of $20,000 AUD per student.” When undertaking a new project a good strategy and approach is vital to consistently ensure the best possible outcome for clients. “With 12 years of global experience working on education programs, we have designed our own project management methodology that combines the traditional PMBOK approach with Agile. The approach has been refined over the years to meet the needs of clients better. “As qualified and certified project managers, our team set up all learning design, development and training projects using a range of cloud-based technologies to communication, collaborate and report on progress with team members and the client. “We spend considerable time during the scoping phase to ensure projects are clearly defined, and expectations on return on investment are confirmed upfront.” The firm clearly differentiates itself from the competition, and marks itself out as the best possible option for clients, due to designing and developing its own material and being involved in the development of the learning management systems that deliver its programmes. “Our unique skills are in writing for online training and university providers, and we have written for many of the best providers,” explains Veronica. “We’ve benchmarked our work against the best in the industry and have come on top in regards to innovation, technology, use of offline support tools and overall student support services.” Australia is internationally regarded as having one of the most advanced and innovative education and training systems in the world. It has been teaching international students for over 60 years and attracts approximately 500,000 students from around 200 countries each year. Veronica provides a more in- depth overview of the industry in the APAC region, including the external influences which affect it and how the firm has overcomes certain challenges it has faced. “Australian educational institutions are renowned worldwide for the quality of their teaching and research. Australia ranks second out of 191 countries and territories in both the United Nation’s Human Development Index and the United Nations Education Index, according to the Australian Consulate-General in Shanghai, China. “The rigour and quality outcomes that Australian RTOs must meet ensures our vocational education system remains amongst the best in the world. V Training Australia believes it’s an ideal time to offer online Diploma’s as an alternative study option to students throughout the Asia Pacific region as the younger generation are demanding just- in-time learning and alternative options to traditional classroom training. “Technology in education will continue to evolve and give more students access than ever before to education online, and that’s why V Training Australia is ahead of this trend and has spent the last 18 months designing and developing the online Diploma programs.” “We utilise research from Deloitte Reports from China and