The challenge: paper exams, fragile equipment, and a growing need for automation
Dirksen started out as a specialist in electronics training and has grown into an all-round training provider for anyone involved in technical ICT. Dirksen was also the first distance-learning organization in the Netherlands. Exams, including those for Dirksen's MBO and HBO programs, were still partly paper-based until 2022.
George de Jongh, general director of Dirksen and ultimately responsible for the transition, describes it like this:
"We did everything on paper. Two people worked in the exam office; booklets were put together, sent out in envelopes, and then had to come back and be scanned."
Scanning depended on a single, fragile machine.
"For years I asked myself: if that scanner breaks down, what do we do then?"
The need was clear: less paper, less manual work, automated testing.
The solution: a platform built specifically for exams
A tip from an IT colleague at the time led Dirksen to Remindo. Remindo is used to compile and administer exams.
"It was exactly what we needed."
Setup began in the fall of 2024 with a series of guided onboarding sessions from Remindo.
"We had about five sessions, together with several of our people. They were recorded, so you could look back later on how to work with it. It all went very smoothly."
The team then entered the exam questions themselves.
"The transition went flawlessly. That was my biggest fear: another automation project that, from experience, you know can go in all directions and take ages before it works. But this went seamlessly — nothing went wrong. And whenever a question did come up, the helpdesk was quick. You'd give them a call, get some smart tips, and it was usually sorted within the hour."
In early 2025, Dirksen started actually working with the platform.
The result: less workload, no more paper, and room to innovate
The biggest gain is in the workload around exam administration.
"We now have one FTE less in the exam office. And the person who stayed went from stressful situations to doing her job in a fairly relaxed way."
Paper has largely disappeared, along with the costs and manual work that went with it.
"There's no more paper involved. No more shipping costs, and all the work around it — taking pages out of the printer, putting them in envelopes, sending them off and getting them back. Administering the exams themselves has also become simpler. And if a paper printout is still needed at test locations (or abroad), we can easily facilitate that with the print-and-scan function."
Just as important is what the transition set in motion.
"We're now seeing that automation can genuinely make a difference. That inspires more of — hey, this could be automated too. That makes us more efficient and more effective."
That translates into concrete next steps: Dirksen is exploring whether practical assessments can also run through Remindo, and wants to link the platform more deeply to its own student tracking and registration system.
For now, one thing is clear to De Jongh:
"It remains the smoothest implementation of an IT system I've ever experienced."