“Receiving this award recognises our commitment to AI-powered learning to personalise and democratise education,” says Dr. Sven Schütt, CEO of IU International University of Applied Sciences. “Our goal is to provide every student with personalised support, real opportunities to grow, and the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world.”

Syntea has evolved significantly since its launch in April 2022, which preceded the hype surrounding the ChatGPT release later that year. Today, Syntea is one of the most advanced AI-driven learning platforms and companions in the university space. Its latest advanced version recognises students’ work environments, preferences, and study objectives and guides the student in a multimodal, multi-agent setup through the learning experience towards successful course completion. In addition to personalising the learning experience, it supports students’ learning motivation. As a result, it increases both study retention and study progress and makes learning more relevant for every student.

“This honorable award shows that AI has the potential to significantly improve the learning experience by providing personalised support and empowering students to confidently navigate complex subjects,” says Mark Zakhvatkin, Director AI & Data, IU Group. “With Syntea, we offer students a reliable, adaptive learning companion that complements traditional teaching methods, promoting deeper understanding and demonstrably better preparation for exams,” adds Quintus Stierstorfer, Senior Director AI Product, IU Group.

About QS Reimagine Education Awards & Conference

The QS Reimagine Education Awards & Conference is a global forum for university leaders, EdTech innovators and educators to showcase pioneering approaches, improve learning outcomes, and prepare institutions for future challenges. See here for more information.

About Syntea

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 AI-powered learning companion guides students through tailored learning paths, identifies knowledge gaps, provides actionable insights, and offers 24/7 guidance. This enables students in distance learning and part-time professional education to study efficiently alongside work and other commitments, promoting deeper understanding, improved exam preparation, and continuous skill development. See here for more information.

Overview: IU Syntea press releases

The EdTechX Leviathan Award recognises established, high-growth companies that are shaping the future of digital education and workforce development. IU Group once again impressed the jury with its global expansion, innovative use of technology, and unwavering commitment to delivering truly personalised education experiences.

“This award reinforces our mission to make high-quality education accessible to all,” said Dr Sven Schütt, CEO of IU Group. “It’s a powerful acknowledgement of the impact our team is making worldwide. We remain focused on innovation and inclusion — empowering learners everywhere to reach their full potential.”

The award was presented during the EdTechX Awards ceremony in London to Dr Marian Bodenstedt (COO Online DACH), Stephan Schäfer (Director Pre-Sales OnCampus), and Edward Harland-Lang (Head of Growth, Walbrook Institute London). The physical award is now displayed at the Walbrook Institute London, IU Group’s UK-based subsidiary, as a symbol of IU’s presence and growing community in the UK.

Held annually since 2013, the EdTechX Awards are among the most influential accolades in the educational technology sector, spotlighting companies that demonstrate sustained growth, transformative innovation, and measurable impact. The finalists and winners are widely regarded as key drivers of global change in education.

To learn more about the EdTechX Awards, please visit: https://impactx2050.com/edtechx/awards-2025

The EdTechX Leviathan Award is a prestigious recognition that celebrates the significant contributions of mature and profitable businesses that play a leading role in shaping the future of digital learning and skill development. For the second year in a row, IU Group was honoured to receive this award, lauding its exponential growth and dedication to leveraging technology to empower individuals globally with highly personalised education.

Global EdTech Awards recognises leading edtech companies, products, and projects around the world for their contribution to digital education and technology. IU received the award of Best AI Integration for its very own learn buddy, Syntea. Syntea is a unique, first-of-its-kind AI-tool developed by IU to empower its students and optimise their studies.

"Receiving these EdTech awards is a testament to our commitment to innovation and excellence in education. We are honoured to be recognised and remain dedicated to transforming the learning experience for students worldwide", said Dr Sven Schütt, CEO of IU Group. "Our mission to democratise education and prepare students for the workforce is at the core of everything we do, and this award reinforces our efforts to make quality education accessible to all."

Both awards were announced in late-June. The EdTechX Awards ceremony was hosted in London and presented the EdTechX Leviathan Awards to Professor Dr Thorsten Fröhlich, IU professor for IT Management. The Global EdTech Award ceremony was hosted online.

For more information about the awards, and to see the winners and runners-up in all of this year’s categories, visit:

https://impactx2050.com/edtechx/awards-finalists2024 
https://edtechawardsglobal.com/winners-2024/ 

"With our vision 'everybody can access education to grow', we show an inclusive, egalitarian and global perspective on our talents and align all our actions accordingly. Diversity and equality play a central role for us. Our self-image includes supporting students and employees, increasing the number of female students, professors and managers, and addressing the needs of people with disabilities or other underrepresented groups," says Nicola Schmidt-Geheb, Equality and Diversity Officer at IU International University of Applied Sciences.  

The IU underpins its socio-political commitment by signing the Diversity Charter, among other things. A clear zero-tolerance policy promotes appreciative, prejudice-free behaviour within the organisation and takes action against any form of abuse of power, discrimination, harassment or violence. 

The award also recognises numerous measures and offers of IU to promote and treat its learners and employees equally - from reducing possible bias in the recruitment and integration process of new employees, to flexible working conditions (such as mobile work, working from abroad, sabbatical) and training for mental and physical health. "At IU we live a 'culture of everyone, by everyone'. This is the only way we can create a working and learning environment in which everyone feels comfortable, can contribute their strengths and can develop further. Diversity promotes innovation, and it is innovation and creative solutions that are at the heart of IU," says Tim Kaltenborn, Director for People Organisation & Culture at IU.  

With initiatives such as Women in Tech, the Study Access Alliance, as well as reduced access barriers through studying without A-levels and without numerus clausus or entrance exams, IU is opening up access to education to more people and making a significant contribution to educational equity.  

On 25, October 2022, IU International University of Applied Sciences was awarded the TOTAL E-QUALITY distinction at a ceremony in Erfurt, Germany. The award is valid until 2024 and can be extended by reapplying.  
 

Further information on diversity and equality at IU can be found at:
https://www.iu.de/en/university/diversity/  

Further information about the TOTAL E-QUALITY Deutschland e. V. can be found at: 
https://www.total-e-quality.de/  
 

ABOUT IU INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 
(PART OF IU GROUP)

With more than 130,000 students, IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is the largest university in Germany. The private, state-approved educational institution with its main campus in Erfurt brings together more than 250 bachelor's and master's programmes under one roof, which are offered in German or English. Students can choose between dual studies, distance learning and myStudies, which combines online and face-to-face events, and design their studies independently with the help of a digitally supported learning environment. In addition, IU enables further training and promotes the idea of lifelong learning. The aim of the university is to give as many people as possible worldwide access to personalised education. IU started operations in 2000 and is now represented in more than 35 German cities. It cooperates with over 15,000 companies and actively supports them in the development of their employees. The partners include Motel One, VW Financial Services and Deutsche Bahn. Further information at: iu.org. 

Erfurt, 30 March 2022. Germany's largest university, IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU), has taken its educational mission to a new level for its more than 3,000 employees, bundling its internal advanced training offerings in the learning management system "IU Learning Hub" since June 2021. Embedded in Microsoft365, the system has been seamlessly integrated into employees' existing working environment, making it intuitive to use and requiring no further log-in. Employees can take around 550 courses in different areas - from IT application trainings to specialist trainings, soft skills trainings and language courses – anytime they want to acquire specialist knowledge and develop their personal interests. The range of courses offered in German and English is constantly being expanded; to this end, IU takes up feedback from learners in order to design the selection in such a way that it offers the best possible benefit for employees. As part of the onboarding process, new IU employees take a comprehensive learning path in the IU Learning Hub and thus gain an intensive insight into the internal advanced training platform right from the start.

The fast implementation of the IU project with its provider LMS365, the seamless integration of the learning management system into the IU working environment and the variety of course offerings - both in terms of content and learning formats - convinced the eLearning Journal. Thus, the IU Learning Hub received the award "Project of the Year 2022" in the category "University".

"Personal development and professional training are core values for us as an educational institution. With our IU Learning Hub, we have now firmly established this important component of our learning culture for our more than 3,000 employees. This provides them with a contemporary learning experience in the sense of self-determined, time- and location-independent learning at the highest level," explains Tim Kaltenborn, Director People Organization & Culture at IU International University of Applied Sciences. "That's why we're pleased to be named 'Project of the Year 2022' by eLearning Journal, but especially thrilled that our IU Learning Hub is being used so extensively by employees."

With around 30,000 successfully completed training courses since its introduction and a constantly increasing usage rate - almost 90 per cent of employees already take advantage of the learning offer - IU Learning Hub has established itself as the company's central training platform in a short time. One crucial factor for the success is the wide range of the course offer: "The IU Learning Hub offers me a variety of opportunities to acquire new competences and skills - this helps me to develop both, professionally and personally," says Sonja Zeller, website project manager at IU. "It allows me to continuously develop within my current role, but also learn new things outside of work." The trainings meet the needs of both, experienced employees as well as those just starting their careers. "As a dual student, I particularly benefit from the IU Learning Hub, because on the one hand I have acquired a much more secure handling of software systems and on the other hand I have built up my own motivation and learning strategy," confirms Jessica Barczyk, who is currently working as a trainee in the Human Resources department at IU. Another benefit that employees emphasise is the ease of use: the process from requesting participation to approval by the supervisor to the start of the course is fully automated and digital. "The best thing is that I can flexibly choose the slots I want to learn so it fits in with my working day and daily rhythm. This allows me to learn in a relaxed and successful way," confirms Jörg Doebler, who works as an IT project manager at IU. "All courses are stored in my personal dashboard, so I can jump straight into a course at any time or pick up where I left off last time.“
 

ABOUT IU INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 
(PART OF IU GROUP)

With more than 130,000 students, IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is the largest university in Germany. The private, state-approved educational institution with its main campus in Erfurt brings together more than 250 bachelor's and master's programmes under one roof, which are offered in German or English. Students can choose between dual studies, distance learning and myStudies, which combines online and face-to-face events, and design their studies independently with the help of a digitally supported learning environment. In addition, IU enables further training and promotes the idea of lifelong learning. The aim of the university is to give as many people as possible worldwide access to personalised education. IU started operations in 2000 and is now represented in more than 35 German cities. It cooperates with over 15,000 companies and actively supports them in the development of their employees. The partners include Motel One, VW Financial Services and Deutsche Bahn. Further information at: iu.org. 

Erfurt, 13 January 2022. IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) was named a “Leading Employer Germany 2022”, and thus belongs to the TOP 1 percent of employers. The Institute of Research & Data Aggregation, which specialises in analytics and presents the Leading Employer Award, evaluated data from around 160,000 companies for the meta-study. About 300 web crawlers found around 10 million data records in about 200 global sources. Experts structured the data and derived the results. 
 

EMPLOYEES CONFIRM OPEN AND FAIR CULTURE 

IU is currently growing very fast and is the largest University of Applied Sciences in Germany, with over 75,000 students. In 2021, more than 1500 new colleagues were welcomed to the IU group. "Our employees are the most important pillar in ensuring the quality of teaching and keeping our offerings and content continuously relevant. We are happy to inspire both our existing team and new talent with our start-up mentality," says Tim Kaltenborn, Director People Organisation & Culture at IU International University of Applied Sciences. "At IU, everyone pulls together to inspire our learners, creating a work environment where everyone can contribute and where there is respect and trust," Kaltenborn continues. 

In an internal survey in 2021, more than 85 percent of employees confirmed that this is the reality at IU. Inclusive and fair treatment of each other also regularly receive the highest approval ratings in external audits. 
 

META-STUDY PROVIDES A HOLISTIC PICTURE 

The Institute of Research & Data Aggregation has been conducting the Leading Employers meta-study since 2017. It is the most comprehensive employer study of its kind. It incorporates data sources from HR market research companies such as Great Place to Work, kununu, Glassdoor, Trendence, Top Job, Ethics in Business and other benchmarks. 

"We know that data-based analyses offer valuable decision-making bases for all areas of life, because all available information flows together in them. This makes the results of the Leading Employers study particularly meaningful for us," says Kaltenborn. "We will incorporate findings from the study into our work so that we can continue to be among the best employers in the future." 

Award-winning companies score highly in several dimensions of corporate culture, such as diversity, HR innovation, family-friendliness or sustainability. Employee satisfaction was also examined in the study. Here, IU occupies a top position with 4.1 out of 5 possible points, which is reflected in a recommendation rate of 84 percent. The flexible home-office and working hours’ arrangements are particularly popular with IU employees. 
 

ABOUT IU INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 
(PART OF IU GROUP)

With more than 130,000 students, IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is the largest university in Germany. The private, state-approved educational institution with its main campus in Erfurt brings together more than 250 bachelor's and master's programmes under one roof, which are offered in German or English. Students can choose between dual studies, distance learning and myStudies, which combines online and face-to-face events, and design their studies independently with the help of a digitally supported learning environment. In addition, IU enables further training and promotes the idea of lifelong learning. The aim of the university is to give as many people as possible worldwide access to personalised education. IU started operations in 2000 and is now represented in more than 35 German cities. It cooperates with over 15,000 companies and actively supports them in the development of their employees. The partners include Motel One, VW Financial Services and Deutsche Bahn. Further information at: iu.org.