Syntea
AI STUDY BUDDY
Client
IU Group
Industry
Higher Education
Team size
6
Time frame
Ongoing
Technology used
The History of partnership
IU & SERAPION
IU and Serapion started collaborating in 2019 with the plan of revolutionizing higher education through the help of a personalized study assistant. During this project, Serapion was able to introduce key contributions that enabled more capable, personalized and powerful assistance to students with the advent of generative AI systems.
Over time, the partnership between IU and Serapion developed from providing software development services in a larger team to Serapion taking ownership of core components of the Syntea system, and most recently to Serapion taking on leadership roles within the Syntea team, where Serapion is a key driver of technical innovation and enablement.
Over time, the partnership between IU and Serapion developed from providing software development services in a larger team to Serapion taking ownership of core components of the Syntea system, and most recently to Serapion taking on leadership roles within the Syntea team, where Serapion is a key driver of technical innovation and enablement.
The vision
WHERE IT ALL BEGINS
IU is providing distance learning programmes for higher education. Through the use of AI, Syntea is able to offer a highly personalized approach to higher education that adapts continuously to the student’s needs.
By combining adaptive learning, personalised tutoring, instant feedback, progress tracking, and an intuitive user experience, Syntea effectively supports the needs of modern, flexible study programmes.
By combining adaptive learning, personalised tutoring, instant feedback, progress tracking, and an intuitive user experience, Syntea effectively supports the needs of modern, flexible study programmes.
The Challenge
UNTANGLING THE KNOT
While classical approaches to this such as lectures, exercises and exams have previously been employed, these approaches do not adapt optimally to the needs, strengths and weaknesses of each student.
Key challenges:
- Exams are a major point of stress for students
- Students often miss personal guidance in distance learning programmes.
- Classical learning formats do not adapt to individual needs
- Students’ strengths and weaknesses are not adequately supported
The Solution
HOW WE MADE IT WORK
Syntea adapts dynamically to students' learning objectives. It independently determines which method is best suited to each student—whether it’s a training session, Socratic teaching style dialogue, or even playful elements like an escape game. Additionally, Syntea can proactively remind students of study times and tasks, with notifications sent via push messages or WhatsApp.
24/7 Study Assistant
- AI analyses student interactions to understand learning behaviour
- Delivers personalised learning recommendations for each student
- Continuously learns and adapts to individual study patterns
- Supports flexible and individual learning paths
Proactive & Multimodal Learning
- Push notifications drive study habit formation
- Audiovisual understanding enables flexible and deeply collaborative learning
- Dynamically generated figures and explanatory graphics
- Interactive applications enable faster completion of courses
An AI-powered assistant that simplifies learning, keeps students on track, and supports everyday academic tasks in one place.
The value
IMPACT THAT MATTERS
Through our collaboration, IU achieved measurable results that strengthened its position as Europe’s largest university.
Benefits delivered:
- Through the use of Syntea, IU was able to reduce time to exam for students by providing a personalized education experience.
- Syntea saw tremendous growth in its user base, reaching more than 100,000 students.
- IU was able to migrate their systems to generative AI technologies, enabling Syntea to deliver a more flexible, multi-modal learning experience.
- Contributions by Serapion enabled IU employees from various teams to craft conversational experiences rapidly and without coding knowledge.
Skills that stand out
CORE STRENGTHS
AI Product Engineering
Building and evolving AI-powered products that adapt to user behaviour, goals, and learning needs at scale.
AI Enablement
Designing and architecting scalable AI architectures that allow domain expert teams to shape AI product experiences.
Data- Driven Product
Transforming product analytics data into actionable insights that support better decisions and faster iteration.
Technical Leadership
Owning core systems and leading engineering efforts to drive innovation and sustainable product growth.