EDUCATION SECTOR
Learning curve The education sector provides a vast range of opportunities for resellers, with areas such as AV and security particularly growing currently, although budget constraints must be considered when talking to customers.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is a fading memory now, it changed how people in many sectors work, and the same is true, to an extent, in the education sector – with hybrid learning and greater use of tech becoming the norm. As Vestel UK’s senior product manager Tim Matthews notes, the UK education market is currently experiencing significant growth in terms of AV and technology sales into schools. “Particularly in the realm of digital classrooms with interactive displays and augmented reality,” he notes. “The value of the UK edtech market has risen to almost £3.5 billion, with a substantial increase in edtech investment in this sector over the last few years.” Tim adds that there is a notable shift towards ‘hybrid’ classrooms that cater for in-person and remote learning – something that began during the pandemic but has remained relevant. “In higher education in particular, this trend is now driven by the need to accommodate remote or even international students who can attend classes remotely,” he says. “Understandably then, there is a growing emphasis on interactive flat panels in classrooms, particularly as the screen content can be shared, saved and used by students after the lesson for reference very easily. “For resellers in edtech, we are seeing our advanced interactive display products in very high demand. This includes solutions for
digital classrooms, meeting and board rooms, science and technology facilities and even library and document archive management. These devices provide a flexible platform for a host of other services and applications. Our family of interactive models range from the entry level IFE to the advanced IFX models are perfectly suited to the edtech environment and have proven very popular with resellers and end-users alike.” Graham Matthews, head of mid-market and education at Lenovo, agrees that hybrid learning is becoming more significant among education establishments. “Many are moving to more flexible methods of teaching,” he says. “With hybrid learning, solution providers need to provide teachers with upskilling training, and students with features such as digital inking, text-to-speech, lecture summarisation and more.” He also notes that confidence is growing among purchasing decision makers in the industry. “We’re seeing trusted brands becoming stronger in this market and tenders are also more focused on solutions now, including sustainability and readiness for work, rather than just specifications and speed,” he says. “It’s also important to understand the growing demand for sustainability and durability. Customers want reliability and longevity in products that have greener packaging. Initiatives like #Waste2Wonder turn packaging waste into STEM educational tools such as electric circuits. We will likely see customer demand increase around this trend. “Popular products vary based on the age group and type of school. For younger age students, most of their learning is done on a touchscreen tablet. To transition to a laptop with a keyboard and trackpad, products such as Lenovo’s 13w Yoga stand out. With its digital inking capability, the Yoga 13w’s flexible design can support students' transition from a table to a clamshell device, as well as hitting the right price point for the education market and providing great durability.”
Tim Matthews senior product manager
vestel.co.uk
There is a growing emphasis on interactive flat panels... ...particularly as the screen content can be shared, saved and used by students after the lesson... “
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