Investing in virtual classroom tech to provide cutting-edge worldwide training to 4k+ participants yearly

Context 

Wilmington plc is a global provider of information, data, training and education to the global regulatory risk and compliance communities. Formed in 1995, Wilmington plc exists to help customers do the right business in the right way, acting as a trusted partner as they navigate the complexity of the Regulatory Compliance landscape. 
 

Challenge 

As part of its digital transformation program, Wilmington plc needed a powerful solution to offer a highly engaging, broadcast-quality remote training experience to its more than 20,000 yearly participants around the world; and at the same time provide a seamless, user-friendly and more natural method of training to their instructors. 
 

Solution 

The answer was Barco weConnect. Wilmington has chosen a weConnect virtual classroom for their offices in Birmingham (UK), which will benefit the businesses providing training and qualifications to their risk and compliance, healthcare and professional industries. 

The lucky ones to first use the platform were the International Compliance Association (ICA).

Tamara Kahn, Wilmington’s Compliance Divisional Director and Executive Director of the ICA, explains their position and why they chose weConnect: "This is a key part of ICA’s cutting-edge learning approach. We are investing heavily into our training programs to make sure they are engaging, effective and relevant to our learners." 

Digitally transforming their training while keeping and even improving outcomes was top of the agenda since before the pandemic, which only confirmed their forward-thinking strategy. 
 

Results 

A true connection between the trainers and trainees 

For trainers, weConnect was a game changer. It helped Wilmington´s trainers: 

• really see their audience
• make an impact on every person
• no longer lose sight of their participants
• ensure their sessions are perfectly accurate and effective
• monitor and offer support whenever necessary, even in breakout rooms

Tim Tyler, Head of Qualifications for ICA, mentions:

"The trainers love it, they feel like they are taking part in a proper training event that is operating in three dimensions. We underestimate the importance of those nuances: being able to read the room, to understand the level of energy and interest from students by being able to see them very clearly life-size on screen. The participants can see the teacher in the same way as well, so it brings a new depth to the experience." 

Innovative remote learning experience and ease of use 

For participants too, it brought a whole new training experience.

weConnect offers a rich, interesting and innovative learning environment through its powerful features (polls, quizzes, whiteboard and pins, enhanced breakout rooms etc.). It allows participants to fully engage in real-time with the content, their trainer and other participants in an immersive way that traditional methods do not support. 

Thomas Mount, Group Chief Technology Officer, says:

´The early student feedback we have received is positive, with praise for the two-way interaction with the teacher and attendees, akin to traditional classrooms.´