To explore and refine pedagogical models for providing lifelong learning opportunities to alumni around the world, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management was in search of an effective way to deliver education and leverage technology. Their solution? Cisco TelePresence.

Rather than provide Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to their alumni, Kellogg wanted to focus on immersive education with high fidelity experiences that provided the same richness of face-to-face instruction and social interaction that students would experience in a program setting.

To test this innovative method for delivering continuing education to alumni, Kellogg offered a three-part series of seminars via Cisco TelePresence, delivered by Professor Mohan Sawhney, the McCormick Foundation Professor of Technology, Clinical Professor of Marketing and the Director, Center for Research in Technology & Innovation at the Kellogg School.

Each of the three 60-minute sessions on modern marketing took place in seven locations worldwide that were connected digitally through TelePresence. The worldwide locations where alumni met to virtually join the seminar were Chicago, Toronto, Miami, Israel, Beijing, Hong Kong, Dusseldorf and New York, and the seminars were open to Kellogg alumni in each of the cities.

Following the third and final seminar, Kellogg polled participating alumni to learn more about their experience with the virtual seminars. Overall, the alumni said that this program provided a highly effective means of delivering lifelong learning to alumni while still allowing a degree of networking.  In fact, the only negative comments were from alumni asking for a longer session to provide more opportunities for interaction with classmates around the world.

Participants commended Kellogg on their "stunning focus on continuing education," and for partnering with Cisco to provide great potential to expand the Kellogg experience beyond the campus in a timely and cost effective manner.