In the evolving landscape of higher education, efficient internship management has become a cornerstone for preparing students for the professional world. Recognizing this, VIVES, a leading higher education institution in Belgium, partnered with Deloitte Digital to tackle the challenges posed by their outdated internship system. The result? SPARK — a cutting-edge, cloud-native internship management platform designed to streamline processes, enhance user experiences, and set a new benchmark for digital maturity in education.
Context: Identifying the Need for Transformation
VIVES faced significant hurdles with its legacy internship management system. The cumbersome nature of the platform forced stakeholders to resort to fragmented tools like Excel, leading to disjointed workflows and scattered information. These inefficiencies impacted students, mentors, and coordinators alike, creating a pressing need for a centralized and intuitive solution.
To address these challenges, the vision was clear: design a robust, scalable, and user-friendly platform capable of unifying the entire internship lifecycle, from application to evaluation. With GDPR compliance and data security as key priorities, VIVES aimed to ensure the platform could cater to their unique needs while remaining adaptable for other educational institutions.
Ambition: pioneering digital excellence with Spark
The ambitious goal was to create SPARK, a modular and flexible SaaS solution hosted on AWS. Built as a central hub for internship management, SPARK promised to:
Centralize workflows for students, mentors, and coordinators.
Enhance user experience through an intuitive interface and streamlined processes.
Ensure GDPR compliance and robust data security.
Provide scalability and customization to serve other institutions seamlessly.
By setting a new standard for digital maturity, SPARK sought to alleviate administrative burdens and empower institutions to focus on their core educational missions.
Action: Crafting SPARK – From Concept to Reality
Deloitte Digital adopted a collaborative, phased approach to develop SPARK:
1. Research and Concept Development
- Conducted user research to understand their needs and pain points.
- Developed a prototype and a cloud-native architecture, leveraging APIs to ensure seamless interoperability.
2. Development and Integration
- Delivered the platform over 10 agile sprints, creating a user-friendly portal for managing internships, organizations, and courses.
- Integrated SPARK with VIVES’s identity provider and Belgium’s national registry to validate and synchronize data.
- Ensured GDPR compliance with advanced data security measures.
- Connected SPARK to VIVES’s backend systems for seamless integration of student data, teacher data, and study plans
IMPACT: Transforming internship management
SPARK has revolutionized the way VIVES manages internships, delivering tangible benefits across all stakeholder groups:
For Coordinators
A centralized dashboard simplifies course and organization management, providing visibility and control over the entire internship lifecycle.
For Students and Mentors
A one-stop-shop for managing internships offers fine-grained control over internship details, enhancing user experience.
For VIVES
Operational costs have been reduced, scalability has improved, and the IT team can now focus on core activities thanks to SPARK’s 24/7 SaaS model.
Moreover, SPARK’s modular design makes it highly customizable, enabling other educational institutions to adopt and tailor the platform to their specific needs. This adaptability cements SPARK’s role as a cornerstone in advancing digital maturity within the education sector.
CONCLUSION: A milestone in digital transformation
The collaboration between Deloitte Digital and VIVES showcases the power of innovation in addressing real-world challenges. SPARK stands as a testament to what can be achieved through thoughtful design and strategic implementation. By simplifying administration, enhancing user experiences, and reducing costs, SPARK not only meets today’s needs but also paves the way for a digitally mature future in education.
Are you ready to explore how SPARK can revolutionize internship management for your institution? Reach out to us today for a demo and take the first step toward transformative change !
Kevin Van Der Plas
Partner
Karel Niemegeers
Manager
