Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education is growing, with many organisations now rolling out AI functionality across their organisations and platforms to the benefit of students, institutions and service providers alike.
The latest is Achieva AI, a first-of-its-kind generative artificial intelligence specifically designed for and fully tailored to higher education; through it, all the answers an international student might seek are in the same place. Achieva’s revolutionary technology has already made an impression; the tech team behind it have been invited to present at the 27th European Conference On Artificial Intelligence, one of the most prominent conferences for the industry in the world.
The Koala sat down with Jimmy Lim, the Founder of AIG Education Group – the organisation behind Achieva.
Lim sets the scene saying “We live in a world of complex and dispersed information, particularly for international students. Imagine you are a student in Bali (a lovely city in Indonesia) and are keen to study abroad, but you don’t quite know where to start. You have almost completed high school, your grades are better than average without being phenomenal, and you are weighing up engineering, IT and business. You are considering the U.K., Canada, Australia and Germany because you have heard from your twice-removed cousin (after their honeymoon in Berlin) that German universities teach in English and German food is not as bad as it is said to be.”
“Where do you start? What do you do? Most importantly, who do you speak with, and how do you trust the source or sources of the information you need? You can approach an agent, attend one or multiple education fairs, and complement these with pieces of information dispersed across a myriad of university websites. Some of these websites, let’s face it, aren’t that clear and don’t provide fair comparisons between destinations, and education fairs only happen in major cities, while resources and geography limit the physical presence of education agent offices. The search can be fun for the student but might also be confusing, especially when comparing eligibility and entry requirements for a particular institution. At the same time, the probability of our enterprising Indonesian student gathering all relevant information and making an informed decision merely based on agent engagement, advice from family, and fair attendance is low. Oh, and let’s not forget that at least ten universities have told you – via one of their reps or an agency – that their state-of-the-art facilities and their innovative teaching and learning, together with their deep engagement with the industry, are a perfect fit for you, and you are almost guaranteed a job upon graduation.”
“What if this prospective student desired unbiased, unaltered, and transparent information about higher education options tailored to their unique needs and preferences? In this case, artificial intelligence could be the answer in the form of an education-specific, highly personalised interface that compares all the options for our hero student and offers up the best-fit ones.”
This is where Achievia can assist. But how does it work and why use it compared to say ChatGPT?
Lim says “Multiple sources of official University and multiple relevant information databases such as health cover, accommodation etc are directly feed to Achieva AI and constantly being updated, so students and parents can immediately understand if they are eligible for a particular course, compare destinations, they can pick a university, and, of course, they can create detailed study plan that is tailored to the student’s background and personality. It’s important to stress that Achieva does not pretend to replace human capability, especially in such a complex environment as international higher education. It simply aims at centralising and streamlining all international prospect enquiries so the student does not waste time shopping around for information critical to their decision-making. Achieva can understand any language and thus be used by parents and students alike, making the information search available to everyone.”
“Achieva can help institutions too,” he states.
“Restrictive immigration policies, student caps, unjust accusations of international students, worsening housing crisis, increasingly convoluted student visa requirements and complicated genuine student assessments all mean – regardless of whether you agree or disagree with them – one thing alone: universities will need to cut costs and diversify revenue in the next five years. With the idea of achieving a global footprint constrained by tightening budgets, technology can help universities and vocational colleges be everywhere, in real-time and 24/7, engaging students who dream and plan to study abroad. It can also assist with enquiry management in that Achieva performs the first screening, weeding out students who do not meet the entry requirements for studying at a particular institution. Students can’t apply directly via Achieva, making it an information hub that assists but does not replace counsellors and university staff. If a student wants to apply, they will need to speak with a counsellor first; if they are still confused by the options presented, they can connect to a local agency or course advisor. In the future, institutions will be able to connect directly with students who have enquired about studying abroad, thus offering an additional and very personal touchpoint to their prospects.”
“Finally, agencies can benefit from Achieva as well. In an attempt to combat high counsellor turnover, and considering that it is humanely impossible for agents to know every subject of every program of every university in the world, Achieva acts as a universal knowledge base, which institutions have an interest in keeping up to date with information regarding their product offering. Counsellors can use Achieva to generate study options, comparison, and recommendations with detailed information within minutes. Achieva works at every stage of the student journey and assists all players along it, without pretending to alter the path a prospect is set upon but ensuring their decision is both informed and justified. “ Lim concludes.
Is Achieva the future of student recruitment? Maybe, maybe not. People to people interactions between university staff, counsellors, students and their parents will always be critical to higher education, however a significant infusion of technology can greatly help students whose dream of studying abroad never dies.
The Koala wishes AIG Education Group every success with the launch of Achieva.
