IDC Technologies revolutionizes higher education with Microsoft 365 Copilot

June 26, 2025

The customer, a government education institution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has long been a trailblazer for technological innovation. Fueled by their mission to foster a culture of quality, innovation, and research, the government education institution partnered with IDC Technologies—a Microsoft partner with over 20 years of experience in digital transformation—to bring Microsoft 365 Copilot into their academic ecosystem and further empower educators and students alike.

Driving innovation in education

Prioritizing the people behind the technology

Both IDC Technologies and the government education institution knew how powerful a tool Copilot could be for the university, but they also knew that successful AI adoption hinges on the people who are going to be using it. That’s why they took a “train the trainer” approach, in which they nominated champion users—people who could take the lead in their departments and drive adoption.

To bolster their skills, services, and strategies for Copilot use, IDC Technologies often turns to marketing collateral and resources (especially the role-based scenario library) that Microsoft offers. When Rayyan Mohammed and his team started working with the government education institution three years ago, however, Copilot was relatively new—so there weren’t many adoption resources for the education sector.

That didn’t discourage them, though. “As long as we have a strong foothold on the technology,” Rayyan Mohammed said, “we’re able to serve any industry.” As a Solutions Partner for Data & AI (Azure), Infrastructure (Azure), and Modern Work, IDC Technologies felt well-equipped to take matters into their own hands, creating and leading Copilot enablement workshops that were unique to the government education institution.

“The enablement workshops were the biggest highlight of this engagement,” said Rayyan Mohammed. These interactive sessions weren’t just about training—they were key opportunities for collaborating and thinking outside the box. “We spoke to teams from different departments to ideate together, and they had really good questions about Copilot’s capabilities and potential.”

Productivity and beyond: Uncovering impactful use cases for higher education

The traditional productivity use cases for Copilot are vital, like generating meeting recaps and summarizing emails, for example. But Rayyan Mohammed and his team are even more passionate about other ways Copilot can revolutionize the education experience.

“With licenses for a solution like Copilot, you could simply enable them for users and the job is done,” Rayyan Mohammed said. “But how do we take it even further? How can Copilot impact every application, whether it's on the web or your desktop?”

Together, IDC Technologies and the government education institution explored groundbreaking scenarios that meet the unique needs of the university’s faculty and staff. From evaluating assignments to drafting course materials to measuring academic progress, they brainstormed ways that Copilot could equip educators and students with the extra support to truly thrive—without any added effort.

For instance, professors could gain critical analytical insights from Copilot. “If I’m a professor, how can Copilot help me track my students’ progress each week?” Rayyan Mohammed said. This kind of functionality, traditionally the domain of tools like Microsoft Power BI, can be complemented by Copilot’s ability to act as an assistant.

With the launch of agents in Copilot, IDC Technologies and the government education institution are also tapping into the capabilities of Microsoft Copilot Studio. One potential (and powerful) use case they’re exploring: interactive chatbots that use SharePoint as a knowledge base to provide real-time support for students and faculty on Microsoft Teams and for prospective students on their website.

A more efficient, agile, and innovative institution

The results speak for themselves. With Copilot as their assistant:

• The government education institution team spent 35% less time reading emails and 49% less time drafting them.
• They spent 50% less time taking meeting notes.
• New documents took 38% less time to draft.
• The government education institution team was 44% more productive overall.

Still, Rayyan knows these results are just the beginning for the government education institution and what they can achieve with Copilot: “As Microsoft invests in and releases new features for Copilot, the government education institution is also along for that journey, adopting new use cases and not limiting themselves to the basics.”

IDC Technologies’ tailored approach to digital transformation is paving the way for their work with customers in other industries, too. “We're currently working with four other customers to explore Copilot, not just for Microsoft 365, but also for GitHub, Microsoft 365 Dynamics, and agents,” said Rayyan Mohammed.

As an engineer-turned-solution architect, Rayyan Mohammed believes he’s in the perfect role—one where he and his team can empower customers to not just adopt Microsoft technology, but to truly harness it and redefine what’s possible for their organizations. And with Microsoft as their partner, he’s confident that IDC Technologies can also redefine what’s possible for their own organization—especially as they continue to grow their digital transformation practice, with services spanning IT, cybersecurity, and Microsoft Azure.

“As an engineer, I’m a big fan of technology, and now being in the pre-sales division, I really find joy in solving these challenges,” he said. “Microsoft has equipped partners with the right content and support—and that has helped us to go to market even stronger and more confident.”