Local educational technology (edtech) firm CloudSwyft Global Systems said it has deployed its virtual laboratory solutions in Mapúa University, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, and Ateneo de Zamboanga University this March, bringing the total number of Philippine institutions using its education computing platform to more than a dozen.
The virtual lab platform automates and digitally transforms the schools’ computer laboratory facility and provides a cloud-based subscription model. The company also offers either a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model or a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model for each education institution.
The company’s education customers also include the Department of Education (DepEd), De La Salle University-Dasmarinas, San Beda College, Miriam College, Enderun Colleges, Philippine State College of Aeronautics (PhilSCA), Tarlac State University (TSU), STI Education Group, Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP), Southville International School and Colleges (SISC).
CloudSwyft founder and CEO Dann Angelo O. De Guzman said his firm is working with technology giant Microsoft in their two projects with DepEd which includes a skilling program for senior high school students called Oplan TAWID (Technology-Assisted World Immersion Delivery), and a retooling of the virtual lab to make applications such as Adobe Creative Suite and TinkerCAD accessible to students, minus the expensive hardware.
“DepEd teachers use CloudSwyft’s platform for the upskilling of SHS and college students, leading towards a better quality of employability in the digital world. Our platform, offered as either a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model or a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model, can be designed to align with the existing curriculum for subjects such as engineering, architecture, videography, robotics, blockchain, and machine learning,” said De Guzman.
BGC-based Enderun Colleges has been offering data analysis, python development, and data science for AI (artificial intelligence) courses through CloudSwyft since 2019.
San Beda College, Miriam College, and the STI Education Group use CloudSwyft’s virtual labs that can be accessed with an Internet connection and a Web browser. These lab environments are purely cloud-based, so they can run on any operating system and device, even on the cheapest tablets and oldest computers.
“With new challenges being faced by the local education sector, especially over the last two years, the transformation of educational institutions in terms of scale, delivery, methodology, and experience is more critical than ever from the past decades. Hence, we are leading the shift to this new category of education computing in the industry,” De Guzman said.
“In an emerging country like the Philippines where infrastructure still needs a lot of work, a higher concentration of students on mobile devices versus using costly laptops and desktops are still a relatively new necessity. It enables the users to experience close to what they get to the physical labs they enjoy on campus, which is a game-changer. CloudSwyft helps bridge that hardware and CAPEX gap via our easy-to-use, access-anywhere, cost-effective and scalable virtual labs available 24/7 to the students studying at home,” he added.
The edtech firm has focused heavily on the education sector in the last three years, engaging various local education groups such as the Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators and the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities.
Its virtual labs solution for education is designed to align with existing Business and STEM course curriculums across all faculty departments such as Computer Science, Engineering, Architecture, Business Statistics, Multimedia Design, Industrial Design, Information Technology, and Hospitality Management, etc.
CloudSwyft vice president of sales Prince Billy Datu said: “CloudSwyft aims to help education institutions globally in this transformational journey of learning anywhere, anytime, on any device through the use of customized and bespoke proprietary virtual labs technology that we have built. These are tailored to every instructor or educators’ needs and without the limitation of hardware specs, especially when learning any subject that requires a certain set of applications or software tools for practice-based hands-on learning”.
CloudSwyft has also become a global edtech company, having signed up customers outside of the country. These include UNITAR International University in Malaysia, Bina Nusantara University, BINUS Center, Universitas Multimedia Nusantara and Universitas Terbuka in Indonesia, Republic Polytechnic, Lithan Academy and NTUC Learning Hub in Singapore, Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry (AITI) in Brunei, Whizhack IIT-Jodhpur in India, GO1 in Australia, FutureLearn in the UK and several other top universities in Europe and Latin America.
“We are in the homeland, born out of a team of aspiring young professionals who want to make a difference. On top of that, our unique products are developed by Filipino technology talents, so there is a real connection to the work we do with the industry we serve,” said De Guzman.
