Skyguide academy extends collaboration with Axians for a further 5 years

Initial Position

Because there are only a few external opportunities for training and further education throughout Switzerland, skyguide is dependent on training and educating its personnel by itself; particularly in regard to the air traffic controller profession.

In addition to long-term and intensive trainings, they have to continuously develop. On the one hand, because they have to renew their certifications again and again, and on the other hand, because conditions for airspace and conditions on and around airports are constantly changing.

One important element of the training is the work on computer-based 360 degree tower and radar simulators at various locations. Skyguide also offers PC courses in various training rooms and remote trainings via the Internet. To meet the strong demand for sophisticated training courses, the skyguide academy maintains an extensive and highly complex IT system and application landscape.

The training courses offered by the skyguide academy are also attractive to participants from foreign air navigation service providers. To ensure it remains the same in future, the company constantly strives to provide the very highest quality of training and further education.

Our Solution

Axians has accompanied the skyguide academy’s e-learning technology team for over 15 years now. This collaboration was recently extended to a further five years. It enables skyguide to keep their own IT resources to a minimum, while Axians contributes additional expertise by focusing on further develope the e-learning technology and on maintenance of the IT for the training systems and all the servers.

Additionally Axians implements the latest technologies and runs a proactive helpdesk.

Virtualization is being driven forward permanently and all systems are being hosted locally. Therefore, the servers are deliberately located at a central location. The infrastructures for the training landscape and the workplaces are set up all over Switzerland. By using the virtualised servers, applications containing the appropriate learning content are simulated on the workstations.

Axians ensures that all systems run smoothly at all times and remain at the cutting edge of technology. What may sound unpectacular, in fact covers a wide range of tasks:

guarantee extremely short response times – if a problem should arise anywhere, Axians provides on-site or remote support
proactively maintain the servers and client builds within defined maintenance periods
permanently monitor processes, control and communicate results
continuously support their IT in developing new projects to improve the trainings landscape
take care of the «middleware»

The COVID-19 situation has impressively shown how important solution-oriented thinking is, as well as innovative products and high flexibility. Shortly after the situation escalated in February 2020 as a result of the corona pandemic, all training facilities in Switzerland were closed. Quick action was required to protect the well beeing of all parties involved and to avoid interruption of the trainings. The training for air traffic controllers, which had been planned physically for beginning of February 2020, could be set up for operation from home office within only a few days by using the already existing ELAN infrastructure