The Innovative Direction of Global Education

Backdrop: In a recent interview with Vinayak Trivedi, vice president and global head at Bentley Institute, and Katriona Lord-Levins, chief success officer and senior vice president at Bentley Systems, I learned about the company’s global education program. Bentley has always been investing in education, but now they are looking at the industry gaps and how they could be bridged, explained Katriona. The objective is to provide learning licenses at no cost to encourage students to come forward and step into the world of infrastructure engineering, seizing the immense possibilities it opens for them. Obviously, many of the students who enrolled were already thinking of infrastructure engineering as a career. But Bentley wanted to open the doors of opportunity and aspirations to even those who had not thought of or did not know much about it.

Vinayak said that previous experience in the education field provided a firm ground to move forward and approach it from a slightly different angle in terms of how they reached out to educators and students. It began as a one-on-one interaction - one geography and one school at a time. That worked and gained momentum, and the global footprint expanded. About 3,000 universities globally have adopted Bentley technologies, and connections with educators and students have seen an exponential rise. Through the education program, Bentley aims to close the academia-industry chasm by nurturing a talent pipeline. 

Education Portal on a Virtual Platform

Today’s generation are not just looking for a “job,” they want to make an impact and improve the quality of their lives. Bentley’s tagline is “Advancing Infrastructure,” and this has been done for sustainable environments and economies, globally. So, to bring all of that to a large body of students, an education portal on a virtual platform has been designed. According to Vinayak, the pandemic has created a level playing field, as everyone has a fair chance and access to the same tools on the virtual platform, enabling innovation and creativity. Gamification is another aspect that breaks the tedium and brings in the fun element. Before the pandemic, students had a busy, packed campus life; but now, they have the time to explore new openings and work at their own pace. While the students are connecting and exploring new avenues, they are also building their resumes. 

How is Bentley planning to inspire and help women and create awareness to minorities about AEC engineering?

Explaining this, Katriona said that the best way you can impact and empower any group of people is by showing them “how” they can achieve their objectives by tapping their latent potential and recognizing their self-worth. It’s not just about the job, it is the outcome. The program provides universal access without barriers. Every journey begins with the first step. Adding to that, Vinayak said that wider network is the key to learning and professional growth and is the thread that has gone into building this education program. In this context, real-life inspirational stories were cited. These showcased how the “impossible can be made possible.” 

Views on Diversity and Inclusion

Katriona said that the view is bi-directional - an inside-out view and an outside-in view. Bentley is very focused on the diversity and inclusion angles. Across the organization, people are coming together to understand what can be done to be more inclusive. Diversity transcends gender, race, etc. and is more about diversity of thought. So, within the organization, they challenge each other in different ways. Diversity of thought ensures that they are not hiring in their own likeness and are including people who challenge their tunnel vision and help them to understand all viewpoints. If that muscle can be developed within the organization, it will flow out naturally.   

Bentley is reaching out to underprivileged and minority groups of children by exposing them to what is possible. These children are the future, and the program is structured to create awareness and empower them through education.

What has been the response so far in the universities that this program has been rolled out?

The response has exceeded expectations, said Vinayak. There have been approximately 150,000 visitors (mostly educators) to the portal in the last six weeks. The rollout of the program was limited to certain countries (Australia, Singapore, UK, Lithuania, and Ireland), but soon it will be introduced in more geographies. In India and the US, it’s going to be rolled out by the end of July.

To understand actual field deployments and scenarios, Bentley’s program takes students on virtual tours, conducts competitions to encourage innovative ideas that will make an impact, etc. The winners of the ongoing Future Infrastructure Star Challenge 2021 will be recognized and awarded at the Going Digital 2021 Year in Infrastructure (YII) event. They will also get the opportunity to connect with industry experts and understand the practical aspects. Vinayak  spoke about different partnerships, such as with COYO that has a project in the UK where secondary school students worked with mentors and experts to build future homes.    

Key Takeaways

The Bentley education portal facilitates the following:

• Access to Bentley software that is being rolled out in phases across geographies at no cost
• Exploring career building opportunities that exist in the infrastructure sector
• Expanding peer-to -peer networks and staying up to date with industry trends
• Helping in resume building

It became clear that the education program isn’t Bentley-centric, it is about trying to make a difference and do something better for infrastructure in general. The program empowers students by removing the barriers and giving them access to a whole new world of opportunities. The future is truly exciting!