Vocational education with a distinctive online presence

A new platform for the new Firda

As of August 1, 2023, ROC Friese Poort and Friesland College merged and continued as Firda. This merger also included new positioning and a new look. Unlike a traditional ROC, which is often associated with youth education, Firda aimed to attract a more mature audience for professional development or reskilling.

The vision of both parties had to come together in a platform that needed to be live before the start of the new academic year. This website had to offer courses for youth and training programs for adults and businesses, through three distinct domains (Youth, Adults, and Organisation)s both on the front-end and back-end. These three domains also needed to be visually distinct from each other. Additionally, the website’s content had to be easy to build and customisable.

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Challenge

A scalable platform that aligns with the diverse target audiences, positioning, and branding of the new Firda.

Solution

A flexible Drupal website with multiple domains that integrates with external systems.

About Firda

Firda, the place for vocational education in Friesland and northern Flevoland, believes that learning extends beyond just technical skills. It’s also about discovering who you want to be. That’s why Firda encourages a culture of lifelong learning for both young individuals and adults. With strong connections to the industry, it plays an active role in the development of applied knowledge. This is where vocational education and personal growth converge.

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Putting the end user first

At iO, we have developed a method where we prioritise the involvement of end users in discovery projects. This process includes a Discovery phase, a Design phase, and visual design.

Insights from interviews

Firstly, we conducted interviews with different target groups. The insights gained from these interviews were used as the starting point for various co-creation sessions involving stakeholders from the different organisations.

From co-creation to concept

The outcomes of these co-creation sessions resulted in a concept where there is a clear separation of the different target audiences. This unique division ensures that users only receive relevant information. Firda is the first educational organisation to offer content in this manner.

Digital identity

Based on the new corporate identity, we developed a completely new digital identity, ensuring that the online experience and brand representation are maximised. This identity is component-based and fully responsive, ensuring consistent design throughout the entire website.

A flexible website with Drupal

In close collaboration with Firda, iO developed a new website using Drupal, a flexible content management system. During this process, we took into account the various requirements and desires for the platform, Firda’s new look and clear separation for the different target groups. We also reevaluated the user experience.

Adaptability and content creation

We developed and implemented a system of paragraphs and paragraph types that act as building blocks for content creation. This empowers Firda to easily construct and modify the website, enabling them to generate content based on their unique requirements.

This separation is maintained on the back end, structured around the three domains. When working within one domain, the others remain hidden. This allows content editors to solely focus on elements that are relevant to their specific domain.

Customised form systems

The youth and adult domains have distinct requirements when it comes to forms. For youth registrations, we integrated with CAMBO.

For adults, we implemented a customised filtering system. The various form options interact dynamically with various paths and dependencies based on the choices made during form completion. Firda has control over the form content and the actions taken after form submission, such as sending emails, securely transmitting data to a Student Information System (SIS), or initiating online payments.

Balance between automation and control

We enabled editors to independently review and adjust registrations. Additionally, we ensured seamless integration with Eduarte, the registration system where all registrations were stored.

Freedom, self-reliance, and user-friendliness

With the new website, Firda has gained a more mature and distinctive online presence.

The use of the content management system allows Firda to easily create and manage content
This self-sufficiency has reduced the need for external assistance, resulting in a greater degree of freedom
Firda has the flexibility to customise the website for different target audiences
The form system simplifies the registration process
The user experience for visitors is much more friendly and there’s a clear separation between the different user groups
The integration of the website with internal systems and the strict rights and roles system ensure privacy and security of sensitive information