Avencera launches product suite for learning and development
A new suite of AI-powered products aims to help organisations reimagine how they define, design, deliver and improve learning products. Project Shybird has been formally launched by consulting and technology business Avencera, with further tools soon to be added.
More than a decade of constant digital transformation – including the ceaseless churn of new iterations of AI tools – means many companies are struggling to keep the knowledge of their staff up to date. Some 86% of employees previously told Boston Consulting Group that they need training to that end.
As education and training systems around the world struggle to capture the substance and nuance of capability requirements at sector, occupation, and role level, consultancy Avencera has launched a new suite of tools, which it says “conducts sophisticated AI-powered research, leveraging powerful product knowledge graphs to support course design and content creation.” Built for use in complex, regulated, environments where quality, transparency and AI accountability matter, Avencera’s new product “combines advanced AI capabilities with robust governance, human leadership, and clear auditability”.
Avencera estimates that a robust, compliant strategy can take around 20 person-days to produce by hand. But by the firm’s reckoning, Project Shybird can create one in under half an hour, with automated and expert validation built into the process. For an assessment organisation with a portfolio of around 100 apprenticeships, Avencera estimates the tool could save approximately £250,000 and 1,300 person-days, while helping high-quality products reach market significantly faster.
Four pillars
Shybird covers four key pillars to do this. The suite has tools to aid definition: conducting sophisticated capability research and defines learning products, including regulated qualifications, exec education and organisational learning programmes. Its design modules can help create high-quality, interactive, courses and learning content – drawing directly on capability research, the organisational context and approach to learning design.
In delivery, it yields personalised experiences with an AI coach alongside every participant, dynamic assessment, and adaptive branching of learning journeys. And with insight, it can capture granular insights about cohort understanding, behaviour, and learning impact to drive future product definition, design, and strategic planning.
Within that suite, Avencera is also committed to building additional tools which speak to the needs of particular client groups. While the Shybird suite is already live and available for demonstration and deployment, that means it will soon include the first of these tools, which prepares new apprenticeship assessment strategies in under 20 minutes, compared to more than 20 days.
Matt Hamnett, founder of Avencera, commented, “We believe that AI enables us to break paradigms and reinvent how we do things. Through Project Shybird, we’ve spent the last four years obsessing over how we can solve systemic problems which undermine the impact of education and training. Our suite harnesses leading-edge AI tools to boost market resonance, quality, and personalisation - whilst reducing the time and cost of production. We’re excited to work with a group of progressive founding clients to bring our impact to the world and continue flowing new AI innovations into the suite over time.”
Avencera is a consultancy billing itself as “AI-native, human-led”, which helps leaders reimagine and reinvent in the AI era. Recently it also appointed Andrew Price as its new delivery director, as it continues to expand its team of senior leaders with deep expertise in strategy, transformation, delivery and AI-enabled innovation.
