STC Elevates the Classroom Experience with Low-Code

Regulations and technology are constantly changing in the sailing and port logistics industry. Staying up to date on these changes is a challenge for employees in the field.

STC, a maritime and logistics educational institute based in the Netherlands, offers secondary vocational and professional training for hundreds of students and early-career individuals.

With subsidiaries in several countries, including Vietnam, STC focuses on helping students understand the interconnectedness of the logistics industry through technology.

“Our goal is to make sure that our students more deeply understand what those logistical processes look like for their future jobs,” shared Joep Bonten, senior project manager of the ICT Department at STC.

STC decided to leverage the Mendix low-code development platform to deliver solutions that are transforming its classroom experience. Today, their Transport Chain Simulator (TCS) stands as one of the most advanced in the industry, offering a remotely accessible learning tool for students and educators.

Adapting to Remote Learning

Logistics companies worldwide struggle with personnel shortages that still haven’t recovered from the trials of the pandemic.

STC recognized the critical need for a new addition to their IT after encountering obstacles with outdated systems. Moreover, STC’s challenges were exacerbated by port and companies’ newfound focus on digitalization and emphasis on system connection.

To provide a unique experience for its students, STC developed an advanced simulation-based training system to replicate the entire transport chain process. This tool offers hands-on experience, immersing students in real-life scenarios.

TCS exercises are integrated into several courses at STC, with weekly simulation classes fostering an interactive environment where students develop practical skills, critical thinking, and industry-specific knowledge.

STC developed its original classroom simulator on a .NET framework which was:

• Inaccessible outside of the classroom, a major challenge for students during the pandemic.
• Difficult to maintain as the team was reliant on the knowledge of a single developer who created the system.
• Time-consuming to update over time, as they were running on different software versions and would need to repeat the same work several times as updates were required across systems.

“The tool had to physically operate only in the classroom which was very limiting. When the pandemic hit, the simulator couldn’t be run at all,” said Linh Nguyen, a production manager at STC Vietnam.

STC saw the need for a new tool and began investigating cloud-based, scalable development platforms that could help to replace this rigid, legacy system.

After evaluating Netherlands-based low-code vendors, STC ultimately chose Mendix for its:

• Extensive cloud capabilities and multi-cloud environments
• Robust version control and testing capabilities
• Availability of experts and frameworks to guide their low-code journey

“More specifically, having users directly make comments and screenshots and remarks throughout development helps a lot,” Bonten said.

Furthermore, Mendix enables less experienced coders to contribute to STC’s development projects. “The Mendix platform provides a user-friendly, visual modeling environment that enables my developers to design and create applications rapidly,” Nguyen shared.

A Seamless Learning Experience

After formally adopting Mendix in 2021, STC revamped their TCS application for broader accessibility and launched the updated system in 2022.

The TCS models various functions in the transport chain, enabling students to role-play professions and tackle realistic scenarios. They navigate tasks from order processing to supply chain management, receiving scores based on their performance.

The tool guides students from beginner-level scheduling to advanced risk mitigation tasks. It includes features like financial assessment modules for estimating transportation costs and advanced order combining for enhanced delivery efficiency.

“Students can act as forwarders – agents that organize and coordinate shipments – managing warehouses, or transport companies,” Nguyen explained.

“For forwarders, they receive quotation requests, outline steps from warehouse to delivery, and manage documentation and verification. For transport companies, they receive orders, conduct logistical verifications, and handle route planning and offloading.”

“With the original simulator, it was difficult to version control,” Bonten added.

Flexibility and composability are central to the simulator’s design. “Using the different modules from the Mendix Marketplace has enhanced our adaptability – a complete contrast to the closed-off nature of the previous system,” Nguyen said.

The simulator also integrates other Mendix applications used within STC to access centralized master data and enhance functionality. For example, the SAML 2.0 module allows the TCS to connect with the institute’s student management system. Custom Google Maps widgets also enable distance calculations and UI enhancements.

Now, multiple students can participate in a single exercise, adding a collaborative element to the experience. Visualization also plays a crucial role—a feature developed by the team in Hanoi.

“The first time you accomplish something, we start a small animation video in the browser, showing what you’ve done. For instance, you can see a truck drive away,” Bonten shared.

STC is experiencing tremendous success in the classroom with their revamped simulator.

“The teachers can also now monitor the students and assign different workloads, something they couldn’t do before,” he added.

Lessons in Mendix

STC’s teachers and students are embracing the new TCS and actively contributing suggestions for enhancement.

With each release, new implementations and features continue to impress users, and the team’s ability to rapidly make changes has led teachers to share ideas and areas for improvement.

Approximately 50% of the simulator’s features stem from teacher suggestions, while the remaining 50% originate from Nguyen’s team.

To familiarize developers with the platform, STC also provides training through the Mendix Academy, leveraging its extensive library of documentation to their advantage. During their initial experimentation with Mendix, four of STC’s developers obtained their Rapid Certifications in just two weeks.

“These resources help us gain a deep understanding of the system and more effectively train our team,” Nguyen emphasized.

Bonten and Nguyen also shared hopes to further grow their Mendix community. “Right now, we have four developers including myself on the Vietnam team. Once we start doing more Mendix projects, we’re looking forward to expanding the team,” Nguyen said.

Making Waves with Low-code

Low-code technology is empowering institutions like STC to adapt to a post-pandemic world. Mendix is fostering a more inclusive learning environment that better equips students for their future careers and empowers educators.

Mendix simplifies adherence to security protocols and offers the flexibility to run the simulator anywhere via the Mendix Public Cloud.

“Before, we would’ve needed more developers just to make sure that all the security protocols are in place. But now, we just make sure that the Mendix applications are up-to-date,” Bonten said.

Furthermore, STC remains compliant with mandatory government workflows as an educational institution, thanks to the secure and robust foundation that Mendix provides for the TCS.

While still utilizing a combination of market solutions and in-house development, STC plans to use Mendix to incorporate even more advanced modules into the TCS to further increase students’ quality of learning.

“In the next few years, we plan to introduce additional roles in the simulator, including airline and shipping agents. We also plan to expand beyond road-based transport to intermodal options like inland vessels, rail, and ships. This will provide students with a realistic experience and the opportunity to explore optimal solutions based on factors such as cost, environmental impact, and other requirements,” Bonten explained.

“The fact that Mendix is scalable and you can use it anywhere was a massive benefit for us. It allows our teachers to prepare work from home, instead of being forced to go to one specific classroom,” Bonten said.