From isolated solutions to the ‘Lernuniversum’ Learning Universe
The eLearning success story of Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe
Leipzig’s public transport operator, Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe (LVB), currently employs around 3,500 people. Drivers, technicians, and employees across the company’s 13 divisions keep the city moving—from trams and transport services to the vehicle workshops.
With demographic change bringing the challenge of securing knowledge from different generations and making it available anytime and anywhere, LVB decided to expand its training management program to include digital offerings. It has gone on to develop over 100 digital courses in just 1.5 years—all grouped together in one place and tailored to the diverse requirements of its employees.
“Our goal was to centralize learning, make it available when it’s needed, and design it to be modern, interactive, and flexible. The Lernuniversum does exactly that.”
– Jo Barbara Volkwein, HR Project Manager, eLearning
Challenges
Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe faced a series of challenges that were not only technical in nature, but also organizational and cultural. How do you change structures that have developed over decades, secure knowledge for the future, and at the same time generate a high level of acceptance among all employees? Its main challenges were:
- Demographic change: Many employees are approaching retirement after decades of service. Valuable experiential knowledge will likely be lost when they leave.
- New expectations: Younger employees want to learn whenever and wherever they choose to.
- Diverse workplaces: The transport operator’s employees work at different locations, and not all of them have access to a PC or the internet.
- Building acceptance: To create its single, central ‘Lernuniversum’ (Learning Universe), the company had to involve the drivers, workshops, managers, and the works council at an early stage.
These initial discussions made it clear that it needed a central, easily accessible learning environment that offers practical content for all its various professional groups. Learning shouldn’t just be plannable, but also available whenever it’s needed—when specific questions arise during the workday.
The objectives
The company wanted to consolidate all of its training in one central location and make it accessible to all of its employees anytime, anywhere, and on any device. At the same time, it needed to develop practical eLearning courses for all of its professional groups and foster a culture in which staff pass on their knowledge to their colleagues.
- Central learning platform: Mandatory training, external courses, and internal sharable content objects are all grouped in one place.
- Interactive eLearning for everyone: Modern, digital learning modules replace isolated solutions and make training practical and relevant.
- Active author community: Employees from various departments develop content themselves, securing knowledge within the company long-term.
- Efficiency and innovation: Digital processes reduce the amount of effort involved in training. Collaborative content creation fosters a culture of learning and boosts practical relevance.
Strategy and approach
Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe followed three clear guiding principles to achieve its goals: One platform, user-centricity, and making content instead of buying it. This is how the Lernuniversum came into being—making knowledge accessible for learning and skill-building whenever it’s needed.
One platform
Staff can access all its learning and knowledge programs via a single platform, so they always know where they can go to learn something new.
User-centricity
Learning content is easy to find, clearly structured, and accessible to staff in every profession, from drivers to the admin teams.
Making content instead of buying it
Practical knowledge from within the company takes priority. More than 60 authors develop content in-house, supplemented by external offerings where appropriate.
“I never imagined how easy it would be to develop my own eLearning courses. The Knowledgeworker Create authoring tool is intuitive, requires no programming knowledge, and has AI functions that make many things easier.”
– Bernd Beinlich, tram driving instructor, with the company for 40 years
From expertise to digital learning content
With the Knowledgeworker Create authoring tool
LVB utilized the Knowledgeworker Create authoring tool from chemmedia for the implementation. The key factor in its software decision was the intuitive user interface that enables specialists to create interactive eLearning courses without any prior programming knowledge. Features such as the integrated AI assistant KI-KAI and automatic translations further simplify processes and ensure that content is modern, practical, and available in multiple languages. Another advantage: Content can be created in keeping with the Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe corporate design or that of its subcontractors.
chemmedia supported the project with strategy consulting, training, and technical support, empowering driving instructors, subject matter experts, and other authors to develop content themselves—from short sharable content objects to complete online courses. The result? A sustainable solution that safeguards internal knowledge while providing scope for further innovation.
Sidenote: The digital tram driving school
Digital, practical, measurable
Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe has implemented a truly pioneering project in the form of its digital tram driving school. Theory lessons, exercises, and exams are now fully digitalized and seamlessly integrated into the Lernuniversum. Driving instructors benefit from transparent assessments (learning analytics) that help them immediately identify knowledge gaps and tailor their lessons to tackle them. Drivers benefit from practical exercises, test simulations, and the opportunity to catch up on annual training courses flexibly.
One driving instructor took on the role of admin and author and received intensive training in how to use the Knowledgeworker Create authoring tool. This resulted in the creation of over 70 digital modules ranging from basic training and refresher courses to data protection guides that address specific everyday situations like lost property and video recordings.
The result? What was once a traditional compulsory training course has been transformed into a modern, transparent development program that enjoys high acceptance and creates measurable added value—for driving instructors and drivers alike.
Results and impact
Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe’ Lernuniversum has become an established part of the company’s processes very quickly. In addition to mandatory training courses, employees now use it in a wide range of other areas—from the digital tram driving school to data protection and compliance training, leadership development, health services, and change projects.
The Lernuniversum has become a dynamic, user-centered tool that increases efficiency, shares knowledge, and embeds learning in the corporate culture long-term.
Interview: Jo Volkwein on digital training at LVB
First-hand insights
How do you train thousands of employees from very different areas flexibly and systematically? What milestones need to be overcome to replace analog processes, safeguard knowledge long-term, and introduce modern learning technologies? In this interview, Jo Barbara Volkwein provides exciting insights into how LVB has successfully integrated digital learning opportunities into the company.
(Interview in German)
This interview was conducted as part of the Knowledgeworker Meetup—the online event for eLearning enthusiasts. The speakers have many years of experience in the fields of eLearning, personnel development, and training management.
The Knowledgeworker Meetup offers exclusive insights into training projects at other companies and organizations. Attendees benefit from the latest industry knowledge and make valuable contacts who can help them find solutions to their challenges—digitally and completely free of charge.
Simply sign up for our newsletter and we’ll let you know as soon as the next Meetup is arranged.
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