The IT Communications team used Synthesia, a video creation platform powered by artificial intelligence, to produce engaging instructional videos for students, faculty, and staff. The short, easy-to-follow instructional videos were used to support the UBC community through technology transitions such as the move to our new email system, M365 Microsoft Exchange Online. The videos transformed routine migration email content into an engaging learning experience, covering a range of topics from email migration preparation, to re-connecting and navigating the new email system with confidence.
Why use Synthesia?
Creating videos is one of the most effective ways to support users, but traditional video production can be time-consuming, labour intensive, and require specialized AV teams to produce. With Synthesia, our goal was to empower our team members, regardless of video editing experience, to produce professional-quality, engaging videos quickly and efficiently. We wanted our team to create content faster, have consistent voice and branding, and create a more dynamic support experience for our users.
Reception has been positive. Diana Yoon,the M365 Senior Project Manager at Enterprise Digital Transformation and Automation commented:
“The AI-assisted videos made it easier for users to understand the value the new M365 email service provides and what changed from their old email platform. It also helped that the team was able to produce the videos quickly and cost-effectively.”
Plans for Synthesia in the Future
The IT Comms team is exploring new ways to use Synthesia beyond IT support, expanding into areas like cybersecurity awareness (training on phishing, MFA, and data protection), onboarding for HR and administrative processes, and storytelling to showcase new IT initiatives and share with the university community.
