PolyU CPCE Leverages OutSystems High-Performance Low-code Development Platform to Build Work-Integrated Education System

The OutSystems platform encourages innovation by reducing CPCE manpower by 50% and time spent on application development.

HONG KONG,June 8,2022 --OutSystems,a global leader in high-performance low-code development,and the College of Professional and Continuing Education of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU CPCE) have partnered to successfully develop a Work-Integrated Education (WIE) System. This system enables students,advisors and school administrators to seamlessly manage students' internship programmes,a mandatory graduation requirement for undergraduate students.

With limited manpower and time,plus complicated workflow,PolyU CPCE faced challenges in developing the WIE System within a short period of time. High maintenance costs of the existing software development tools also posed difficulties for PolyU CPCE to digitalize.

Speed and agility empowered by high-performance low-code development

Switching to a high-performance low-code development platform enabled CPCE to build and deploy the WIE system,servicing over 5,000 students and 400 staff members within five months and saving 50% of time and manpower needed compared to traditional coding. The system simplified the workflow progress and enabled report-generation for analysis,replacing the traditional paper forms in the administrative process.

Creating a streamlined workflow with OutSystems allowed PolyU CPCE's programmers to better communicate with internal users. Instead of debugging at the last stage,programmers could tackle issues in the application and workflow spotted by users during the development process. The agile approach embedded in OutSystems provided strong integration capabilities that catered up to three times more change requests,helping to create an improved user experience while shortening the time to deploy.

"It is very important to receive prompt and constructive feedback from the overseas technical support team," said Dr Jason Chan,Assistant Dean (Innovation and Entrepreneurship) of PolyU CPCE who led the team. "We get responses within two hours and this allows us to resolve issues efficiently and plan ahead effectively. A real benefit from the system is seeing our new IT colleagues with no coding experience to pick up OutSystems skills in less than three months."

High-performance low-code development for COVID-19 innovations & STEM education

On top of workflow simplification,Dr Chan,a visionary IT leader,made good use of the opportunities provided by high-performance low-code applications. Equipped with the agility of OutSystems,PolyU CPCE programmers developed enterprise-level applications to manage COVID-19 measurements - from deploying a vaccination portal for students to upload their vaccination and recovery records to comply with new COVID-19 policies to developing a visitor registration system for precise record-keeping and management. Besides,PolyU CPCE was able to revamp its E-learning portal to enable students to continue remote learning under the suspension of on-campus classes. All of these innovations were completed within four weeks.

Enhancing students' innovations and championing entrepreneurship have always been Dr Chan's priorities as PolyU CPCE looks to expand the platform for STEM education. "Using low-code is now a popular way to create prototypes that allow basic ideas to be showcased to others within three months,a better option than spending 6-12 months with traditional coding" Dr Chan highlighted. "We have witnessed more students using low-code than traditional coding in their projects,assignments,and competitions. The education sector should continue to promote low-code as the first step of entrepreneurship and innovation. Additionally,we would like to enable students to add OutSystems certificates as a recognized skill set to their CV,enhancing their competitiveness in the job market in the digital future."

"Gartnerforecasts that 70% of new enterprise applications will be developed using low-code/no-code technologies by 2025[1]. We are glad to see how PolyU CPCE values the potential of low-code in workflow simplification and student education." said Mark Weaser,Vice President for Asia Pacific,OutSystems. "As a leading high-performance low-code platform recognised by Gartner,OutSystems has been featured in case studies in lectures across world-class universities. We would like to encourage more universities in Hong Kong to adopt low-code development in their research,operation and student education. Together with the education sector,we can contribute our expertise in nurturing the next generation with low-code development ability."

[1]Gartner Says Cloud Will Be the Centerpiece of New Digital Experiences,November 10,2021

https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-11-10-gartner-says-cloud-will-be-the-centerpiece-of-new-digital-experiences

About OutSystems

OutSystems is a global leader in high-performance software development. We partner with visionaries to turn their big ideas into critical applications that move business,people,and the world forward. We create a culture of innovation inside any organization by turning software into a strategic strength. The OutSystems network spans 600,000 community members,more than 400 partners,and active customers in 87 countries across 22 industries. The company is known as "The #1 Low Code Platform"® and a market leader by analysts,IT executives,business leaders,and developers around the world. Learn more at outsystems.com.

About College of Professional and Continuing Education of PolyU

The College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE) was founded in 2002 as a self-financed college of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). PolyU CPCE oversees the day-to-day operation and development of its two educational units,namely Hong Kong Community College (HKCC) and School of Professional Education and Executive Development (SPEED). PolyU CPCE aims at fostering synergy between the two units in the provision of quality education. PolyU CPCE's vision is to be a leading self-financing tertiary education institution in Hong Kong. With a mission to offer high quality tertiary education to learners at different stages of their studies/career,PolyU CPCE offers education pathways with multiple entries and exits.

For more information about PolyU CPCE,please visit: www.cpce-polyu.edu.hk.