Meet Sharaf Goussous, CEO and Founder of Skills Leap Australia. His mission is to transform traditional education into a digital, intelligent, animated, and interactive experience by integrating AI and disruptive technologies. Providing eLearning and digital transformation solutions for the future, Skills Leap Australia leaves its clients free to focus on learning and development.
Below we sat down with Sharaf Goussous to learn a bit more about his journey in EdTech and eLearning solutions.
Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got interested in the field of education technology?
Sharaf: My background is in Information Technology and one of the first jobs I got after graduation was technical support. My job was solving other employees’ technical issues. As I solve the issues I would explain to them what happened, why, and how I solved it, I realised that I am interested in educating people in technology. I also realised that people still lack the digital literacy to solve minor issues. Therefore, I started thinking about combining education and technology to improve the way people can learn. This was the first trigger to get me interested in the field.
Q. What are some of the unique challenges that come with providing eLearning and digital transformation solutions, and how does Skills Leap Australia approach them?
Sharaf:I believe some of the challenges we face is to make sure the courses being developed online can be accessible. Such as for people with low digital literacy, disability…etc and mobile friendly. We approach this by making sure when we design the courses, and develop the features, they are applicable and customisable according to the audience and tested properly before we launch them.
Q. Can you talk about some of the innovative ways that you’ve integrated AI into education, and how you see this technology shaping the future of learning?
Sharaf: Currently we are using some AI models that help administrators and teachers to make informed decisions about the students’ performance. We are also in the process of researching and developing AI models to be integrated into the teaching and learning experience to make them streamlined and save teachers and students time. More details to come after we launch our products.
Q. Inclusivity and accessibility are important factors in eLearning. How does Skills Leap Australia ensure that their digital solutions are accessible to people with disabilities and other marginalised groups?
Sharaf: When we build online courses we usually advise the client that they should consider accessible courses for people with disabilities and others. But sometimes the client wants lots of animations and interactives, specific pictures..etc. which contradict with the accessibility requirements so we have to triple the effort to make sure everything should be customised to make so they can be accessible.
Q. What advice do you have for universities and training providers who are struggling to keep up with the advancements in technology and adapt to a more digital learning environment?
Sharaf: “Stay up to date” and create a digital strategy. Their infrastructure should be ready and reliable so they can implement any digital learning initiatives fast.
Q. Can you talk about some of the biggest trends and developments you see happening in the field of education technology in the next few years?
Sharaf: Definitely Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. The learning will be tailored for each student and the tutoring will be more intelligent and adaptive.
Q. How can institutions streamline the student experience through monitoring and reporting, and what role does technology play in this process?
Sharaf: Learning Management Systems have the capability to monitor and report on students. However, there are still limitations on the volume and accuracy of the data provided. So, there should be more tools integrated to the LMS for better analytics, data collection, early warning systems and making data driven decisions.
Q. Can you speak to the importance of designing the student experience according to the target audience, and how Skills Leap Australia approaches this process?
Sharaf: A well-tailored student experience can lead to increased engagement, satisfaction, and improved learning outcomes. SLA approaches this by first understanding the audience, identifying their needs to select the appropriate instructional design strategies then developing the relevant content and making sure the UX and UI of the courses are student centric.
To keep up to date with Sharaf, connect with him on LinkedIn, or visit Skills Leap Australia.
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