Winner System, a subsidiary of Winner Industrial Engineering, has developed the Online Learning Management System to help higher education students and teachers continue classes during the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns.

A team of three experts developed the platform on the existing e-Student system, allowing students and teachers to continue classes online from wherever they can connect to the internet. The original e-Student system was launched seven years ago and has been used by institutions of higher education. Winner System has upgraded it to an e-learning management system.

Originally, the e-Student system was used for admissions, registration, adding and dropping courses, grade submissions and graduation. Currently, eight universities, including Meqelle, Adama Science & Technology, Madda Walabu, Ambo, and Kotebe Metropolitan universities, and Catering & Tourism Training Institute, are using the e-Student system.

With the Online Learning Management System upgrade, students, teachers and higher education institutions will benefit, according to Filimona Berhanu, CEO of Winner System. The company was established to supply higher education institutions with tech solutions and is a subsidiary of Winner Industrial Engineering, which was founded in 2010. Currently, it employs 15 staff.

The Online Learning Management System, which was launched two weeks ago, took 15 days to develop, and currently, Meqelle and Adama Science & Technology universities have started using the upgraded online system for their students and teachers.

PhD and postgraduate students have more access to technology than others and are making good use of it, according to Yemane Seged, business application administration and development team leader at Meqelle University.

The system that is accessed through the internet will be monitored and regulated by the universities who are using the system.

The new system has features that allow the sharing of course materials; uploading video, audio and PDF materials; submitting individual and group assignments; and chatting online, among others.

It has been more than five years since Meqelle University started to use e-Student and two weeks since students started using the upgraded Online Learning Management System, according to Yemane.

The government closed all private and public schools, including universities, due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic to limit transmission of the virus. Since the closure, students have returned home from all universities. Elementary and high school students are also staying at home and following class through a television programme transmitted by the Ministry of Education.