iSMART

iSMART is a suite of resource planning and scheduling solutions that enables educational institutions to maximize resource utilization, streamline communications, and reduce operating costs. These solutions are optimal for scheduling of all educational activities, such as lectures, labs, tutorials, events, staff meetings, and exam boards.

Problems Addressed

Educational Institutions and universities usually have a number of activities taking place at the same time. Without a proper scheduling system there can be wastage of resources and money. iSMART is powered by a sophisticated Genetic-Algorithm and Fuzzy-Logic based engine which automatically plans and assigns all the resources required by an educational institution. Unlike other products, iSMART engine has customizable constraint handling options which can be changed as the institute´s business logic changes.

Benefits

iSMART has the following advantages:

  • Optimization of resources

  • Improvement in the level of consistency between schedules

  • Reduction in manual work involved in scheduling

  • Production of meaningful statistical data on resource management decisions

Features

iSMART offers the following features:

  • Creates detailed plans of courses, number of enrolments, and number of classes per week for the semester.

  • Ensures optimal usage of rooms and other facilities, thereby reducing operating costs.

  • Optimizes lecturer work hours thereby allowing them sufficient time for vital activities such as research.

  • Ensures proper course schedules and sufficient provision for popular elective subjects.

  • Produces optimal exam timetables and ensures minimal disruption to other ongoing courses.

  • Ensures that regular and irregular meetings are optimally scheduled taking in to account academic commitments.

  • Supports over 25 configurable constraints which can be adjusted based on the institution requirement.

  • Produces instant time table using the iSMART timetabling engine along with suggestions on how to improve it further.

  • Ensures that other support operations, such as dining, cleaning, security are free of congestion and operate smoothly.

  • Automatically provides online reports for end users to view their allocations and timetables.

Implementation Success

Prior to deploying iSMART, UNIMAS had a team of five full time scheduling personnel and forty part time personnel from different faculties, with the scheduling process requiring nearly four weeks. After implementing iSMART, UNIMAS reduced the number of full-time dedicated staff to just one person. iSMART has been purchased and installed by secondary and tertiary educational institutes in Malaysia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

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