RPA supports Xamk’s growth

South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences Xamk is focused on wellbeing, technology and creative industries. The campuses are located in Mikkeli, Savonlinna, Kouvola and Kotka.

Xamk offers over 70 degree programmes, which can be completed in a flexible manner and some entirely online. In addition to degree programmes, Xamk has the most comprehensive offering of open UAS courses in Finland, new micro-courses and a wide selection of options for further education and training.

South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences also focuses on RDI projects, which aim to promote economic growth, especially in South Savo and Kymenlaakso. The goal is to support existing companies and to foster entrepreneurship. There are approximately 250 ongoing projects annually.

Educational partnership with RPA

Senior Lecturer Katriina Vesala describes how Xamk started its RPA partnership: “We had already worked with Staria in the field of education. In 2017, Xamk was one of the first educational institutions that started the RPA partnership with Staria in the StaRPA Academy program. In the beginning of 2020, we decided to expand the partnership to also include the automation of the organization's processes.”

Finance Manager Satu Rask states that the idea of utilizing RPA was based on personal interest. “I participated in a one-day training session, where I got more information about the topic and received ideas on how to implement software robotics within an organization and a unit.”

“As the accounting workload increased, we discussed how to make our current processes more efficient and automated instead of hiring new personnel. We wanted to free up our accountants’ time for more significant tasks”, Rask describes.

The new colleague was embraced with enthusiasm

In Xamk, the implementation of RPA was divided into teams by educating staff members on the topic, which resulted in increased understanding and interest regarding the topic.

“Reaction to RPA has been positive. As the organization grows, workloads are increasing and even the smallest ideas on how to facilitate work have been happily received”, Rask states.

Vesala is working as the RPA lead and is responsible for coordinating the organization's needs, specifications and the implementation of processes. “Team members have favored the RPA solution, because the robot's areas of responsibility and the overall purpose of automation have been made clear. We have seen both eagerness and commitment and have received a great deal of ideas for automating processes”, Vesala continues.

Robot to automate invoicing process

Xamk has 8 RPA implementations currently in production. The first automation project was started in Spring 2020. “We started from the processes related to financial management and human resources, as we felt they were the easiest”, Vesala describes.

A robot named “Max” automates the invoicing process by gathering invoice datasets and transferring them to the system. A receipt is also sent via e-mail, which the robot inspects. “Max's contribution is evident in daily work. Thanks to Max, work hours are freed up and the benefits are evident with regards to these processes”, Rask informs.

Max is like a normal colleague, who is affected by global events. The robot must be updated along with the processes. “Max is like one of us”, Vesala states.

Robots process student enrolments

The third process to be automated was the recording of student information to several systems as well as adding grades to the student-administration system called Peppi.

“Xamk is partnering with Cambridge and along with the game design online training, 9000 credits are added to the institute. No single person could transfer these to the system within the set time frame. Max updates the system constantly”, Vesala describes.

Open collaboration and professional discussions

“The most significant factor in choosing our RPA partner was our years of experience of partnering with Staria. We were also experienced in using UiPath, which made it the obvious choice for our technology platform”, Vesala states. “Our partnership has been both functional and open. Rather than a simple customer relationship, we have walked side by side."

“The partnership has worked very well. “The work has been done in a professional manner. Our questions are answered, and processes are developed with competence”, Rask happily adds.

Future plans

Xamk will continue automating processes and various RPA processes are already being planned. Working with student and information services and IT involves large masses of data, which can be automated.

“We will continue engaging management and getting various teams involved in RPA through managerial training. We are moving towards strategic decisions, and therefore it is important to increase understanding on the topic. There is a great deal of interest towards RPA and management supports the venture, and so our path forward is open”, Rask and Vesala sum up.

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