Qantas program, developed by Tata Interactive Systems, wins Australian Award

Tata Interactive Systems (TIS), the leading global e-learning producer, has helped airline operator Qantas to win one of the ‘2005 Melbourne Airport Environment Awards’, which were awarded recently. The TIS-developed 'Staff Environmental Awareness Learning Module’ – which ensures the training of all Qantas employees in significant environmental issues and responsibilities affecting their day-to-day operations - won the Melbourne Airport 'Best Environmental Initiative' award.

The first award of its kind, this award recognises excellence and innovation in airport environment management. Applicants for the awards must demonstrate how a project, program or action undertaken by them has contributed to the long-term protection or enhancement of Melbourne Airport’s environment.

For the e-learning program to be successful – primarily as a piece of learning rather than as an ‘award winner’ - TIS had to develop something that appealed to a target audience which was diverse in terms of age, background, IT skills and learning preferences, as well as dispersed around the world. The resulting program enables Qantas’ staff to return to their workplace and identify any issues that require further management/assessment.

“Among the key challenges for us was designing a highly interactive, effective and engaging learning program, containing the minimum amount of text per screen and no audio,” said Kakoli Sen, project manager of the TIS development team. “We achieved this through developing a number of relevant and innovative interactivities, including puzzles and games to keep learners interested while providing effective learning.”

The resulting program was created in Flash MX, embedded in an html/dhtml framework with dynamic references from XML. It is distributed online, hosted on the Qantas server and runs on the Oracle ilearning LMS.

The program includes an assessment module which is based on a ‘Nature Trail’ game, which must be completed in 20 minutes. Here, the learner is be required to collect articles that are not environment friendly from a simulated natural environment and, in order to do this, the learner must correctly answer questions that are mapped to the learning objectives of the course.
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Notes for Editors:

About Qantas
Qantas was founded in the Queensland outback in 1920. Registered originally as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (QANTAS), it has built a reputation for excellence in safety, operational reliability, engineering and maintenance, and customer service.

Today, Qantas is widely regarded as among the world's leading long distance airlines and one of the strongest brands in Australia. It also operates subsidiary businesses including other airlines, and businesses in specialist markets such as Qantas Holidays and Qantas Flight Catering.

For more about Qantas, visit www.qantas.com.au

About Tata Interactive Systems (TIS)
Tata Interactive Systems (TIS) is a global pioneer in e-learning. A part of the £7bn Tata Group – one of the largest and most trusted business conglomerates in India, TIS has 15 years of experience in designing and developing innovative and cutting-edge e-learning solutions.
TIS employs a global team of 850 multi-disciplinary specialists – a unique mix of project managers, software engineers, instructional designers, content developers, visual designers and animators. Its service bouquet includes Simulations, Systems Training, New Hire Training, Business Processes and Skills Training, Regulatory and Compliance Training, Sales and Customer Service Training, Adaptive Assessments, Story-based Learning Objects and EPSS. Powered by creative talent, sound processes and technological excellence, TIS has developed over 950 e-learning solutions for more than 300 clients – including 50 Fortune 500 companies – across the UK, Europe, US, Australia and Asia. Its client roster includes leading corporations, renowned educational institutions and government bodies such as British Airways, BECTA, Citibank, Colgate-Palmolive, ExxonMobil, GlaxoSmithKline, HP, McGraw-Hill, NHS, ntl, Orange, Pearson Education, Qwest, Royal Mail, Swiss Re, UNICEF, University of Phoenix, University of Maryland and Vodafone.
Apart from holding ISO 9001 and BS7799 certification, TIS is the only e-learning organisation in the world to be assessed at Level 5 in both the SEI CMM and P-CMM frameworks. TIS’s quest for excellence is reflected in 23 prestigious industry awards, including BETT 2004 Best Product Award, Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards in 2004 and 2005, APEX 2004 Award of Excellence and being shortlisted for the ‘Team of the Year’ in the UK’s E-Learning Awards.

For more information log onto www.tatainteractive.com

About the Tata Group
The Tata Group, established in 1904 by the great visionary Jamsetji Tata, is one of India’s largest and most trusted business houses. The group pioneered the industrial revolution in India by founding, among other things, the first steel plant, power plant and chain of luxury hotels.

The Group employs more than 220,000 people in 91 companies across diversified industry sectors including steel, automobiles, cement, telecom and IT. Generating revenues to the tune of $17.8bn (some £10bn) per year – 2.9 per cent of India’s total GDP – it is recognised as a leader in several industry segments such as such as steel, power, software exports and chemicals. It is also the parent company to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Asia’s largest software producer.

Further information from:
Alan Samuel, Tata Interactive Systems, 020 7905 0156, www.tatainteractive.com
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, 01727 860405, www.boblittlepr.com