RADWIN, a global wireless broadband solutions provider, has completed its first technical certification training using a newly launched remote lab. Providing comprehensive hands-on-training for South American and African partners, the Remote Lab paves the way for additional training for all RADWIN’s global partners.
Sparked by the pandemic last year, RADWIN’s customers worldwide were faced with travel and social distancing restrictions. They weren’t alone: According to McKinsey management and consultant company, approximately 50% of in-house programs in North America and close to 100% of those in parts of Asia and Europe were cancelled in Q2, 2020.
As hands-on training is a mandatory part of RADWIN Academy certification training, cancellation is not an option. Logistics in setting up classroom training are complex under regular conditions, but even more critical in the aftermath of COVID-19. To overcome these challenges, RADWIN’s Professional Services established a Remote Lab at its headquarters in Tel Aviv. Initial live sessions were held in March, with attendees from over 16 countries, spanning Mexico, central America, Brazil and South Africa.
“It was great to be able to work with equipment from the recent series,” said Abraham Cancino, from Projects and Special Sales division of Maya Quetzal in (Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico) “The instructors were very good. {During} the practical course, it was great to have {RADWIN’s} help all the time, especially as it was the first time that I had interacted with RADWIN’s equipment.”
“Innovation and adapting to evolving needs have always been a top priority for our Professional Services Program, so we weren’t going to let the pandemic prevent us from training our clients,” said Dan Weitzman, Vice President, Global Professional Services. “Despite COVID-19 restrictions, we quickly adapted to the new environment and the needs of our partners for physical practice of RADWIN’s equipment”.
As of April, 2021, the Remote Lab’s real equipment includes a variety of Point-to-Point (PtP) and Point-to-Multipoint (PtMP) setups and IDU-S units. Now students can remotely connect to the lab and practice with RADWIN’s extensive range of radio systems and operational support systems (OSS). The trainer can supervise sessions over dedicated class management software. In addition, instructors can even demonstrate WINTouch mobile application installation and configuration processes using a connected phone mirrored to the desktop.
“RADWIN’s practical training allowed us to clarify many of the technical foundations for PtP to PtMP families theoretically and verify them in a practical laboratory,” stated Jorge Saldua, of Bogota, Colombia, Pre-Sales Manager at Winncom. “The great logistics and laboratory infrastructure allowed me to consolidate without fear of errors. With labs, you can carry out different practices and topologies and to know and reinforce what is seen in theory.”
Following the success of its launch, RADWIN continues to offer supervised remote hands-on training as an efficient and viable certification option.
