Kiljava Institute, with the help of Teamware Group, is developing a new web service that will function as a cost-efficient interactive communications tool. In addition, Kiljava Institute may offer Teamware's customers Teamware Office™ end user training and personnel training. Kiljava Institute is a folk high school specializing in the development of working life. The institute is maintained by a training fund of the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions.

The recent cooperation between Kiljava Institute and Teamware includes renewing the Kiljava Institute web service based on the Teamware Pl@za® solution. The service will be realized using modules. Modules, which are not needed in the first stage of realization, can thus be added later on. In addition, Teamware will deliver a Teamware Office 6.0 groupware system to Kiljava Institute. The system includes both the solutions needed for internal use at the institute and all licenses necessary for a training environment. User training can be combined with additional personnel training and training connected with organizational changes, especially when implementing a new software system.

'The web service will be clear, easy-to-use and flexible. For us, one of the most important objectives is to intensify communications and course management,' Mr. Pertti Rantanen, Principal of Kiljava Institute, describes the background for the project.

The target groups of the web service are students, staff and other parties connected with the Institute. Updating information in the service will be easy and it can be decentralized, thus information will always be up-to-date. In addition, the web service will enable follow-ups of user volumes. One objective is to reduce the workload within the Kiljava Institute organization. The solution by Teamware supports the institute's already existing reservation and resource management application, Asio-Data. When renewing the web service, Kiljava Institute's own expertise will be utilized, especially for visual design.

'We decided to take on the Teamware solution because it offered a single software unity that can be easily managed. End users are working closely with the specification project team, which ensures that the implementation phase will be as fluent as possible. Now we will be able to decentralize the content management of our web pages using clear, jointly approved standards,' relates Prinicipal Rantanen. 'In the future we will be able to receive students' enrolments for courses via the web. We will acquire more power in our internal communications with the help of, for example, the intranet, data storage and information sharing features, as well as joint resource calendars,' concludes Pertti Rantanen.