Building a digital edtech disrupter: Germany’s largest and fastest-growing university

Disrupting an industry that is central to individuals and corporates alike and has long been dominated by well-established institutions can be a daunting but exciting challenge.

Higher education is one such sector, where bricks-and-mortar universities have traditionally enjoyed a monopoly on students’ education. But shifting dynamics in how we learn, work and interact, coupled with technological advances, have changed how students can access and structure their education.

The market for online and dual studies degrees is growing rapidly, especially in the corporate sector, creating strong opportunities for a digitally-native business such as IU. Oakley Capital acquired a majority stake in the company in November 2017 through a carve-out from US business Apollo Education Group.

Oakley’s strong track record in the education and online consumer sectors means we were well-placed to support IU’s ambitious growth plans.

Oakley immediately identified three core ingredients for the Group’s future success. The first of these is the growth mindset which pervades all parts of the organisation. Led by CEO Sven Schütt, IU’s team of entrepreneurs, technology experts and educators has consistently defined and delivered on ever-ambitious targets, including faster growth rates, new programs, strategic initiatives and scaling the Group’s offering into new opportunities.

The second crucial ingredient is innovation and creativity, enabling the Group to develop the right content and tailor appropriate formats that meet changing demands for new courses and skills, that deliver the best possible outcomes for students, and provide valuable accreditation that improves career prospects.

Thirdly, at its very core IU is an edtech business: the Group has successfully technologised and optimised every step in the value chain, from content creation to learning delivery. This means IU is able to anticipate and take advantage of changing market dynamics, launch new programs, and effectively scale up its offering to meet increasing demand and student enrolments. The coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated how significant IU’s competitive edge really is: unlike its traditional competitors, IU has placed online learning at the very core of its education offering for many years now.

Oakley has supported IU Group by encouraging management to set ambitious goals for the business and helping the team to achieve them.

• Supporting investment in technology: as a digitally-native business, IU has developed its technology platform to sustain growth in enrolments and surging demand for e-learning, supported by a team of over 500 data and digital specialists. The Group is leveraging Natural Language Processing as well as cutting-edge AI technology to revolutionise the personalised learning experience.
• Supporting investment in IU’s core education offering: the Group’s technology platform and AI capabilities have also driven an expansion in its range of courses and degrees, adding over 50 new degree programs in 2020. The same technology allows IU to benefit from speed to market compared to slower, more traditional players in education. During this period, the Group has also invested in talent and facilities, hiring more education specialists and academics to bring the total to 1,800 professors and freelance tutors, and opening new study campuses to support blended teaching. The Group has also invested in student support and wellbeing programmes.
• Supporting IU’s infrastructure: Oakley has helped IU professionalise its business. In addition to strengthening senior and mid-level management, this also includes significant investments in the backbone of the organisation: the roll-out of a best-in-class financial reporting system is just one of many examples. One of the benefits is that KPIs are now readily accessible to business leaders in order to drive performance, target resources and plan future investments.

All this investment is bearing fruit. Last year alone, total student enrolments almost doubled, and today IU boasts more than 200 accredited bachelor and master programs and dynamic library assets of more than 150,000 learning hours. The Group enjoys high customer satisfaction rates and a 97% recommendation rate.