Academic Software partners with DEAN NGO to support digital transformation in Africa

The focus of this partnership is on a long-term relationship in which Academic Software supports DEAN in projects aimed at improving access to digital resources and training for schools in Kenya and Tanzania.

Academic Software is a global leader in solutions for digital education, and will work with its sister organisations, Signpost and Digitale Methodes, to support DEAN’S projects in the following ways:

• to provide advice on the right combinations of hardware and learning platforms and software to offer the best quality education in classrooms in Kenya and Tanzania;
• to advise on hardware purchases such as tablets and Chromebooks, and take care of the ordering to ensure that DEAN can purchase hardware at the most advantageous prices;
• to help make DEAN’s headquarters a state-of-the-art facility – with workstations, laptops, and everything they need for online meeting and teaching, such as large screens, microphones and cameras;
• Academic Software will loan one of their audio-visual experts to DEAN each month to help DEAN produce the animations and instruction videos they need for training and communications;
• Academic Software, Signpost and Digitale Methodes will run training workshops for DEAN’s staff in Africa.

Arne Vandendriessche, CEO of Academic Software, said:
Education drives everything we do, and Academic Software, Signpost and Digitale Methodes are deeply committed to promoting inclusivity and equality of access in digital education. We’re passionate about helping teachers and learners have access to the digital tools they need. We also want to help in parts of the world where achieving digitalisation is challenging. We share DEAN’s vision for seeing the opportunities of digital transformation in education being available to all children, and we look forward to offering our expertise with hands-on advice and support to help DEAN’s work in Africa.

Joost Dam, Founder and Director of DEAN, added:
DEAN is excited about the partnership with Academic Software. Academic Software and DEAN have identical work fields – we are both improving education through ICT. Although we work in different environments, Academic Software is a knowledgeable partner in the field of ICT for education with the Corporate Social Responsibility objective to contribute to the mission of DEAN by sharing their experience, knowledge, network and skills. We look forward to a collaboration that spans and strengthens different aspects of our projects in Africa.