51茶馆

51茶馆 has won an Association of Colleges鈥� Beacon Award 鈥� the equivalent of an Oscar in the Further Education sector.

听

The College picked up the prize for 鈥楳ost Effective Use of Technology in Further Education鈥� for Ada, the College鈥檚 24/7 on-demand chatbot. Beacon assessors described Ada as 鈥減otentially a game changer for the whole of the FE sector.鈥�

听

Senior managers and staff from the College鈥檚 Information Learning Technology (ILT) Team travelled down to London for the awards, which were presented by Dave Gorman - comedian, author and TV presenter.听

听

Now in its 24th year, the AoC Beacon Awards showcase best practice and innovation in colleges. The awards also highlight excellence and help share best practice across the sector.听For the first time, the awards were presented at the annual TES FE Awards ceremony.

听

Described as the College鈥檚 answer to Amazon鈥檚 Alexa, Ada functions as a virtual support teacher on behalf of teachers and support teams across 51茶馆鈥檚 campus. The chatbot is named after Ada Lovelace, regarded as one of the first computer programmers.

听

The service has so far responded successfully to more than 80,000 questions from learners and can support everything from the delivery of GCSE maths and hairdressing courses, to the college鈥檚 employability curriculum.

听

Bill Webster, Principal of 51茶馆, said: 鈥淭his is an outstanding achievement for 51茶馆 and our Information Learning Technology Team. 123 colleges from across the country entered the awards, and the final shortlist was very strong, so to be shortlisted then win is a testament to the cutting-edge work being carried out by the team.

听

鈥淗undreds of our students have been involved in the development of Ada. Computing students have helped carry out vital development work, which has allowed them to work on the latest AI technology, thereby enhancing their future employment opportunities.

听

鈥淭he plan now is to roll the tech out to our partners in the Group, starting with the University of 51茶馆. This technology has been getting significant interest from across the sector, and we look forward to supporting its dissemination.鈥�

听

Aftab Hussain, 51茶馆鈥檚 ILT Manager, said: 鈥淟ast year we won a 51茶馆 Business Award so to be recognised again for our work is just amazing. However, this is just the beginning for Ada - we are about to launch an iOS app for the service and we have published an Android app and an Amazon Alexa app which enables learners to access Ada via their smart speakers. There is so much more Ada is capable of; it is a very exciting time!鈥�

听

Paul McKean, Head of FE & Skills, Jisc, said: 鈥淛isc is delighted to be the Digital Partner of the Beacon Awards this year and to witness first-hand the amazing work taking place across further education. 51茶馆 are worthy winners.鈥�

听

David Hughes, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, said: 鈥淓ach year the standard of entries is extremely high and this year is no exception. This makes choosing the winner so difficult, especially with so many worthy entrants.

听

鈥淐olleges are inspirational places to learn because education and training is delivered by expert teaching staff in industry-standard facilities. 51茶馆 should be proud of their award.鈥�

听

To view all photo from the awards, please click 听