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Introduction

The University of Nicosia’s School of Business is renowned for its excellence in teaching and research, particularly in the interdisciplinary fields of business and ICT. With a student body of over 2,000 and an academic community of nearly 100 members as of January 2023, it stands as the #1 business school in Cyprus and Greece, according to the 2023 Times Higher Education World University Rankings for Business and Economics.

Globally recognized as a leader in business education, the UNIC School of Business ranks among the top 201-250 universities worldwide and #45 in the European Union. The school is dedicated to providing an exceptional learning experience through innovative teaching methods, exemplified by the recent adoption of Engageli, a cutting-edge platform designed for active and collaborative learning.

The platform is utilized across the MBA program
and the MSc in Blockchain and Digital Currency
to promote more interaction, participation, and
meaningful engagement for better learning
outcomes. Leading this transformation is the Dean
of the Business School, Prof. Angelika Kokkinaki,
working in collaboration with Dr. Chris Alexander,
Head of Technology Enhanced Learning Centre,
who has introduced Engageli to the university.

The Vision of Engaging, Human-Centered Classrooms

The University of Nicosia’s Business School is dedicated to innovative teaching and learning methods. The school is continuously searching for new ways for students to engage meaningfully and learn effectively. With a focus on enhancing engagement levels, enabling meaningful connections between students, determining engagement benchmarks for continuous improvement, and increasing student satisfaction, the business school aims to see increased enrollment in business education.

“The existing learning environments we had, offered room for improvement in supporting group work and interactivity. Enhancing these aspects is particularly beneficial for simulations, case studies, and projects commonly employed through our modules.”
—Angelika Kokkinaki
—Dean of the Business School

However, the tools previously used at the university were not fully aligned with this ambitious vision. Despite efforts to leverage various video conferencing and communication tools, these solutions did not entirely meet the school’s needs. Networking and peer-to-peer connections, which are common in face-to-face classes, were challenging to replicate online. Dean Kokkinaki highlighted the challenge of “The Black Screen Syndrome,” where faculty members often faced cameras that were turned off instead of their students’ faces, leading to minimal real-time feedback and interaction.

Recognizing these challenges, the school was committed to finding better tools that can foster a more engaging, connected, and interactive online learning experience. “Feelings of isolation and lack of motivation for learning should never be accepted as status quo,” Dean Kokkinaki emphasized. The pursuit of advanced solutions reflects the business school’s dedication to creating a vibrant and effective learning environment for all students.

Implementing a solution to drive innovation

Engageli offers human-centered learning at scale by enabling seamless transitions from full-class to group interactions without losing touch with learners. It offers access to a highly engaging and dynamic learning environment to individuals regardless of their location or connectivity levels. Even students in remote locations can easily participate and interact with peers in the classroom, as Engageli offers diverse channels of communication, participation, and feedback and allows for natural peer-to-peer interactions

In the first year of implementation, Engageli
adoption at Nicosia grew from 90 to 850
students in the Blockchain and Digital Currency
Programs (ranked in the global top 10), and
continues to grow and expand as both students
and instructors are finding the clear benefits of
the system. Instructors who used embedded
polls discovered the benefit of low-stakes
engagement strategies, as they led to 90-
100% participation and sparked interaction for
students.

Dr. Konstantinos Karasavvas, Professor of Computer Science and Blockchain Technology said: “Students are usually quite reluctant to ask questions, but the polls (plus discussion) helped to engage them, i.e. more people seem to ask follow-up questions.”

“I’ve never worked with a company that is so dedicated to supporting me as an instructor. I feel so much calmer knowing that the Engageli team is there for me while I explore Engageli with my students!”
—Angelika Kokkinaki

The level of support and responsiveness of the Engageli team was a key factor in the success of implementing Engageli at the University of Nicosia. The success plan included a thoughtful onboarding process that promoted the recruitment and training of a large and growing number of instructors. Engageli is currently used in 3 main programs at UNIC: OMBA, Digital Currency (Blockchain), and Metaverse.

A shift to data-driven teaching with detailed analytics

With Engageli, the university could start tracking learner progress with every interaction, identifying learners at risk, encouraging learning outside of the classroom, and analyzing attendance trends for both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Instructors can now enhance their teaching methods by understanding engagement data trends. As an example, speaking Time analytics monitor all speaking time throughout the class based on role and speaking mode, even when students interact asynchronously without an instructor present. In a class from the MBA program, Engageli analytics show that initiating a table activity immediately drives high student engagement by comparing the instructor and student speaking times. Insights like these can promote teaching and learning best practices within the Business School Community.

“Engageli gave us so much more than what we usually have in the classroom. With Engageli I can make data-driven decisions; I can easily track the team interactions, I can encourage less active participants to speak, I can shift and move people around to enhance engagement. This is over and beyond my usual interventions as a lecturer in a physical class. I truly cherish it."
—Angelika Kokkinaki

The majority of instructors who switched to Engageli for their online classes indicated there was a significant positive impact on the teaching and learning experience.

Observing the power of a purpose-built tool

Engageli provided the University of Nicosia with an interactive, dynamic environment that facilitates meaningful peer-to-peer connections. Group projects, simulations and case studies at the Business School and Digital Currency program are now supported and enhanced by an intentional environment.

“I see students laughing and smiling more. They have an opportunity to bring their own background and professional experiences into the classroom. This happens thanks to Engageli tables. The way I can Instantly click into table mode and go into groups, it’s just incredible. It doesn’t come close to other platforms.”
—Chris Alexander
—Head of Technology Enhanced
—Learning Centre

Dr. Neophytos Karamanos, Professor of Corporate Strategy in the MBA program referred to his first experience with Engageli: “Both myself and the students found the experience of our first Engageli session as extremely effective and enjoyable. Interaction was at a very high level… Overall what the platform provides is outstanding. I would be glad to extend the use of Engageli to all of my courses.” In addition, the partnership with Engageli enables the university to lead and innovate while designing both synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences with added levels of engagement. Dr. Chris Alexander, Head of Technology Enhanced Learning Centre summarized: “Engageli is so profoundly different conceptually from other standard video conferencing systems: it’s purposely built to facilitate the infinite possibilities of active learning. Right at the heart of Engageli is the pedagogical process of ‘discovering’ the affordances of ‘decentralizing’ the e-classroom. There is nothing else like it.”

Innovation into the future

The University of Nicosia business school has had a successful implementation of Engageli in their classrooms to align with their goals of driving innovation and engagement among their students. The online learning experience has been enhanced for students as they have found new ways to connect with their peers and learn together. As the business school continues to expand the use of Engageli in their classrooms, they are confident that delivering instruction through a purpose-built learning tool will differentiate their business education.