AI-Powered EchoVideo Transcriptions Reduce Language and Belonging Barriers at the University of Bradford

Languages are a sacred thing that the World Economic Forum estimates we could lose 1,500 of by the end of the century. More languages mean more unique ways of expressing and contextualizing oneself, as well as understanding the world. More languages sometimes also mean more barriers to accessing quality education and decent economic opportunity. AI language recognition models, like those deployed in EchoVideo, are reducing language and belonging barriers by allowing learners to professionalize and deepen their understanding of a less familiar language through their studies.

BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions story, “Enabling Inclusive Education for All,” features Osama, a biomedical student at the University of Bradford, England, who moved from Khartoum, Sudan to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a medical professional — someone who can “help people who are struggling,” he said, adding that “I always knew there was no way to achieve this without education.”

“Having accurate transcriptions in lecture recordings is necessary for not only the learner’s success and sense of belonging in and outside the classroom,” said Kathryn Stewart, Echo360 Chief Product Officer, “but also for the lives that that student goes on to impact during their career. Osama’s story is a perfect example. Accurate transcriptions of medical lessons could lead to life-or-death decisions made by Osama while at work someday. That’s why the University of Bradford choses to rely on the accuracy of Echo360’s EchoVideo transcriptions in over 30 languages — to ensure their students and instructors are understood, regardless of language or accent.”

EchoVideo transcriptions are powered by Speechmatics. Speechmatics Machine Learning Engineer Benedetta Cevoli explains in the film that “Our models learn by being exposed to a variety of different voices and accents, similarly to how we humans learn a language when we are a kid. … This means we can understand every voice, and no learner is left behind.” The ability to understand any voice and accent is a necessary challenge to address in any diverse learning or work environment, with AI accelerating the sophistication of solutions. Osama gives the reason why it’s important to solve that challenge when he reflects that “All people [at Bradford] are different, but the thing that unites people is language. As my mother tongue is Arabic, sometimes English is complicated for me. I didn’t want that to affect my education and ability to integrate and feel included with life at university.”

The sense of belonging we feel to a place seems to grow in parallel with our understanding of the hidden things in everyday conversations we have and hear.  Dr. Richard Nelson, Senior Digital Learning Developer at the University of Bradford, shared in the film that “International students at universities do have some language barriers they have to overcome, and we support them through the digital technology we employ.” EchoVideo helps learners build that sense of belonging by allowing them to revisit and pick-apart content in their primary language alongside the original content, deepening their understanding of professional and academic jargon and cultural connotations.

“Students I’ve talked to say they couldn’t live without it basically — it makes their learning experience so much better,” Dr. Nelson said. Osama confirmed as much when he concluded the film by saying, “Now I’m very happy because I’ve been working to achieve my goals and dreams in life, and … I do not want to give up with Echo and with my life here.”

Osama’s story should be a wake-up call to higher education and business. Since 2021, the number of on-campus Bachelor’s and Master’s programs taught in English has grown 22% globally. Pair that with fact that more organizations than ever can draw from an international pool of talent using a remote-first workforce, and the conclusion is that having accurate and automated translation and transcription tools lowers the barrier for non-native English speakers and organizations to reap the benefits and learn from the challenges of a more diverse workplace.