Fujitsu and Chulalongkorn University Launch Field Trials for Student Performance Management System to Enhance Student Support

In support of higher education in Thailand, Fujitsu takes its Campusmate-J/Student series of student support systems outside of Japan for first time

Tokyo and Bangkok, June 19, 2013 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Systems Business (Thailand) Ltd., and Chulalongkorn University today announced that they will jointly develop a student performance management system based on FUJITSU Education Solution Campusmate-J/Student series of student support systems for higher education. The organizations will launch field trials of the system to evaluate its effectiveness at Chulalongkorn University and expand features that meet the needs of universities in Thailand.

Development of the new system makes it possible to help students, advisors and instructors collectively manage the student's academic and extracurricular activities. The trial will involve students with exceptional abilities in sports, art and music by consolidating all of the different kinds of student information collected across multiple departments at Chulalongkorn University into a single student performance management system. In addition, a two-way communications feature for individual students and faculty members means information and advice can be tailored to the circumstances of each student. Moreover, insights gained from the Chulalongkorn University trials will be leveraged to add new features that fit the needs of Thailand's university system and culture. After further evaluation of the system put in operation at the university, Fujitsu plans to develop it into a solution well-suited to other Thai universities.

In employing the new system, Chulalongkorn University aims to strengthen its support for career development, improve the quality of its student services, and improve the efficiency of its operations.

These field trials represent Fujitsu's first endeavor at deploying its university education solutions at an institution outside Japan. Going forward, Fujitsu will seek to develop new solutions to be brought to market in Thailand.

Background

For over 20 years, Fujitsu has provided a variety of solutions to numerous universities throughout Japan that deliver higher-quality education and enhanced services for students. Through this track record, the Company has amassed significant know-how pertaining to the development and operation of systems for higher education. As Thailand's oldest and most prestigious university, Chulalongkorn University is also actively engaged in the pursuit of cutting-edge initiatives. To streamline operations for faculty members while improving the quality of student services for career design and career development, the university had been exploring development of a student performance management system - the first of its kind for a university in Thailand.

In light of this, Fujitsu and Chulalongkorn University have agreed to leverage their respective strengths to develop a student performance management system that will enable higher-quality student support. After development, the organizations will hold field trials to test the system's effectiveness and expand its functionality.

About the Field Trials

In Japan, many universities have deployed student support systems in order to centrally manage various data, including basic student information, registration records, and academic grades. Using these systems, instructors and staff can easily monitor the status of a student's academic progress. Moreover, by storing advice and counseling records and sharing it among faculty members, such systems are helpful in enabling universities to provide advice that is closely tailored to individual students, and universities have benefitted from lower dropout rates as a result. In addition, students can input academic and career goal information and self-evaluations, which staff can then view and use in providing guidance. As such, these systems are employed as an important part of universities' career development initiatives.

The field trials will be undertaken at Chulalongkorn University to evaluate the effectiveness of the system put in place, which is based on the Fujitsu Campusmate-J/Student series, with existing features revised and new ones developed in order to better meet the needs of Thailand's university system and fit well with its unique characteristics.

By quickly discovering problems faced by students and providing them with tailored support, Chulalongkorn University hopes that the deployment of this system will further improve the capabilities of its students and increase the level of satisfaction in the university.

Overview of the Field Trials

Project period: June 2013 to March 31, 2014

Users: Approximately 500 students enrolled in Chulalongkorn University's special programs for students with exceptional abilities in sports, art and music, along with 80 instructors and staff

Systems tested: A student performance management system based on the following application package systems:

Campusmate-J/StudentChart
Shares student information and counseling records among faculty members across different departments, enabling timely student support well-suited to individual student needs

Campusmate-J/StudentSupport
Provides the ability for students to input their career and academic goals, and achievements, allowing faculty to provide advice based on this information. In addition, the system provides web-based application processing and survey capabilities, which facilitate the collection of updated student information and improved operational efficiency.

Campusmate-J/StudentView
Provides an interface allowing faculty members, students and guardians to view student academic performance information and activities, as well as advice and comments from the university and instructors

Campusmate-J/WebBase
Provides a portal feature that serves as a one-stop hub for information and services available across campus, as well as for sharing a variety of information between students and faculty

Respective Roles in the Field Trials

Fujitsu will offer its know-how in utilizing student support systems, in addition to overseeing project management for the trials and the construction of the student performance management system, including development of new features.

Chulalongkorn University will select faculty and students who will use the system, as well as collect and provide data from within the university. The university will also provide advice about feature requirements for the student performance management system, in addition to overseeing its utilization and evaluation.

Fujitsu Systems Business (Thailand) will support system development and local operations.

Comment from Dr. Tanit Tongthong, Vice President of Chulalongkorn University:

It is a great opportunity to have this cooperation between Fujitsu and Chulalongkorn University to jointly implement the student development support system, especially for our talented students. With excellent technology from Fujitsu and the traditional practices of Thailand's higher education, the system will support the success of students' studies and help university staff to effectively nurture good human resources for society. Starting from Chulalongkorn University, we hope that in the future it will be beneficial to student development in other universities as well.

Comment from Atsuhiko Motohashi, Senior Vice President of Fujitsu's Healthcare and Educational Systems Unit:

Through these field trials with Chulalongkorn University, Fujitsu is looking forward to gaining deeper know-how and applied knowledge for the purpose of strengthening student support using IT systems. We also seek to create next-generation student support solutions that will enable us to establish a new business model that we can apply not only in Thailand and Japan, but in other global markets as well.

Comment from Masayuki Kunimaru, President of Fujitsu Systems Business (Thailand) Ltd.:

This is an important step in introducing Fujitsu's technologies to institutions of higher learning in Thailand. This collaboration is a valuable experience for both Fujitsu and Chulalongkorn University, and, moreover, will benefit students and society overall. Our efforts in the educational field are important in that they contribute to shaping culture and society. As a good corporate citizen in Thailand, we are proud and delighted to support Thai society through this collaboration.

About Fujitsu Limited

Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. Approximately 170,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.4 trillion yen (US$47 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013 For more information, please see www.fujitsu.com.



Source: Fujitsu Limited

Contact:

Fujitsu Limited
Public and Investor Relations
www.fujitsu.com/global/news/contacts/
Tel: +81-3-3215-5259

Fujitsu Systems Business (Thailand) Ltd.
Tel:  +66-2302-1500 

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