QUT Incorporates AI into Bold Multi-Year Digital Connections Project
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QUT Incorporates AI into Ambitious Multi-Year Digital Connections Project
- QUT augments its multi-year digital connections scheme with AI and data-centric tools to enhance student assistance.
- The university employs Salesforce to establish a 360-degree perspective of students, alumni, and potential students.
- AI applications such as Einstein Copilot and Case Classification optimise operations, saving time for frontline staff.
- QUT has unified 24 separate business groups into a single Salesforce organization, boosting efficiency across divisions.
- Accenture partners with QUT to deploy AI features, enhancing service experiences and advising effectiveness.
- Upcoming advancements include real-time voice categorisation and next-best actions to refine case management response.
How QUT’s Digital Connections Program is Advancing with AI
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has initiated a groundbreaking multi-year venture to transform its digital connections program. This undertaking, launched in 2022, utilises artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to refine student support services, ensuring a more tailored and integrated experience for both current and prospective students. The latest stage of this project embeds AI tools to bolster the abilities of the university’s frontline personnel.
Creating a 360-Degree Student Overview with Salesforce
At the heart of QUT’s digital overhaul is Salesforce for Education, a customer relationship management (CRM) solution. The platform delivers a holistic, 360-degree perspective of students, alumni, and prospective students, empowering the university to better handle relationships across critical engagement points. As noted by James Rail, the program director, this CRM infrastructure underpins QUT’s objective to evolve service centres into “experience centres,” thereby enriching the connection and interaction with students.
By the close of 2023, QUT anticipates that all 24 distinct business units will be fully integrated into a unified Salesforce organization. This consolidation will enable more than 750 frontline agents to offer personalised assistance, leveraging over 2 million pieces of consolidated data. The system provides a real-time, detailed view of each student, enhancing engagement and decision-making.
Streamlining Processes and Minimising Complexity
One of the notable advantages of QUT’s Salesforce deployment has been the simplification of its digital landscape. Previously, the university relied on a variety of systems, local databases, and spreadsheets to handle student interactions. Now, these fragmented systems have been merged into a single, more efficient platform. This not only decreases complexity but also boosts operational productivity and data uniformity across departments.
AI-Enhanced Student Support
QUT’s digital endeavour is not merely about establishing a foundation—it’s focused on ongoing innovation. As part of this approach, the university has embraced a range of AI-enhanced tools from Salesforce’s Einstein suite. These tools aim to boost the efficiency of service personnel and elevate the overall student experience.
Key AI tools include:
- Einstein Copilot: Summarises case histories and offers vital insights into student interactions, enabling service staff to swiftly understand and address inquiries.
- Case Classification: Automatically categorises inquiries—often submitted through email or social media—using historical data, thus saving time for agents and improving response precision.
- Article Recommendations: Proposes relevant knowledge base documents to agents, assisting them in answering student queries more effectively.
- Prompt Builder: Facilitates the creation of tailored AI prompts to guide agents in their responsibilities, enhancing productivity.
- Data Cloud: Gathers and analyses data to provide a comprehensive perspective on student interactions, further enhancing personalisation.
These AI tools were swiftly deployed in just four weeks, with contributions from Accenture’s teams located in Sydney, Brisbane, India, and the Philippines. The assimilation of these tools has already produced positive outcomes, particularly in refining case management and augmenting agent productivity.
Future Initiatives: Real-Time Voice Categorisation and Next-Best Actions
As QUT looks to the future, it plans to further enhance its AI and data capabilities. One pivotal advancement is the implementation of real-time voice categorisation, enabling agents to discern the nature of a call in real time. This will facilitate quicker and more precise triaging of inquiries, significantly enhancing response times.
Moreover, QUT intends to roll out “next-best actions,” real-time AI-driven suggestions that will assist agents in responding more proficiently, no matter the complexity of the query. These innovations are anticipated to further elevate the university’s capacity to deliver high-quality, personalised assistance to students.
Conclusion
QUT’s incorporation of AI into its multi-year digital connections initiative marks a considerable advancement in how the university supports its current and prospective students. By harnessing Salesforce’s CRM and Einstein AI tools, QUT has developed a more coherent, effective, and tailored support system. In partnership with Accenture, the university has successfully implemented diverse AI functionalities that enable frontline personnel to provide swifter and more precise responses. With future plans to introduce real-time voice categorisation and next-best actions, QUT is poised to maintain its leadership in digital transformation within the higher education sector.
FAQs
Q: What is the aim of QUT’s digital connections initiative?
A:
The initiative seeks to redefine how QUT engages and interacts with current and potential students by employing AI and data-driven tools to offer personalised, efficient support throughout various stages of the student journey.
Q: In what ways does Salesforce assist QUT in managing student relationships?
A:
Salesforce for Education acts as the primary CRM, creating a 360-degree perspective of students, alumni, and potential students. This enables QUT to manage interactions more effectively and deliver tailored support.
Q: Which AI tools has QUT introduced?
A:
QUT has adopted several AI tools from Salesforce’s Einstein suite, including Einstein Copilot, Case Classification, Article Recommendations, Prompt Builder, and Data Cloud. These tools enhance operations and boost service agent productivity.
Q: How does Case Classification enhance efficiency?
A:
Case Classification automatically categorises inquiries based on historical data, allowing agents to save time and ensuring that cases are prioritised and resolved more quickly.
Q: What are the upcoming developments for QUT’s AI integration?
A:
QUT plans to implement real-time voice categorisation and next-best actions, enabling agents to identify the nature of calls as they occur and receive AI-driven suggestions for optimal responses.
Q: What role has Accenture played in QUT’s digital transformation?
A:
Accenture has been instrumental in integrating AI tools and providing resources from its teams in Sydney, Brisbane, India, and the Philippines. Their collaboration with QUT has facilitated the rapid incorporation of AI functionalities within the university’s digital connections program.