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using automation to drive efficiency and innovation at sfu

Kailash Srinivasan

October 21, 2024

Except for auto-debit, which automatically, sometimes painfully, deducts money from our accounts every month to pay for bills, automation usually makes our lives more convenient. Consider smart home systems that control lighting, heating, and appliances, enhancing efficiency, or automated investment platforms that help us manage personal investments.

SFU has also been leveraging automation to drive efficiency and innovation, in line with our What's Next: The SFU Strategy and digital transformation goals.  

When the federal government announced additional international student visa requirements in January 2024, a move that impacted universities across Canada, including SFU, IT Services used the power of automation to meet the new visa requirements faster than any other BC institution. 

Under the new rules, provinces were asked to provide attestation letters for international students to confirm their admission to designated learning institutions as part of their study permit applications. As the peak fall 2024 application season approached, for SFU’s student services admission team, this meant manually entering data for thousands of applicants into the provincial portal within a short timeframe.  

The team initially considered an "all hands-on deck" approach by pulling together all available staff to tackle the workload. However, they recognized they would be stretching an already limited-capacity team, risking delays in other critical work areas.

The team wanted a quicker, more effective solution and turned to IT for help. 

In response, SFU IT swiftly deployed a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) based system, automating the manual process of transferring data from a spreadsheet into the province's portal and achieving some impressive outcomes for the admissions team: 

  • Cut the processing time in half, producing 250 letters in days rather than weeks.  

  • Optimized resource allocation, freeing staff to focus on higher-value tasks.

  • Eliminated the risk of data entry errors, ensuring higher accuracy.

The RPA-based system operated on a secure SFU server with strict encryption and Multi-Factor Authentication protocols. This careful approach ensured compliance with data protection laws and maintained the integrity and confidentiality of student information.

If your team has a repetitive and time-consuming manual process, get in touch today to explore how automation can help. Contact your Business Relationship Manager for more details.

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