Reference: GFBM Akademie gGmbH with cimoio
The GFBM Akademie gGmbH, based in Berlin, is a non-profit education provider supporting people in employment, vocational training, and lifelong learning. The academy develops practical, hands-on education concepts for diverse target groups, from vocational training to advanced professional development. It focuses strongly on career orientation, supporting career changers and upskilling in an increasingly digital work environment.
Through a wide network of partners in business, public administration, and society, GFBM Akademie acts as a bridge between people and the labor market. This collaboration helps participants gain essential skills for professional success and new opportunities in a changing world of work.
To enhance its mission, GFBM Akademie has adopted digital solutions for learning and training management. In cooperation with cimoio and STL GmbH, the cimoio academy was introduced. This hybrid LMS and TMS efficiently organizes learning offerings, supports digital learning processes, and provides targeted guidance for participants.
Testimonial
The project demonstrates how SMEs benefit from an integrated LMS and TMS solution that delivers both digital learning content and practical training effectively.
Challenge
Between 2022 and 2023, the GFBM Academy launched the publicly funded project “R-Learning Collective – Learning Platform for SMEs.” Its main goal was to raise awareness among SMEs in Berlin and Brandenburg about the potential of digital learning. Additionally, the project demonstrated practical pathways for implementing effective digital learning processes.
The project was supported by several expert partners:
-
The Berufsbildungsverein Prenzlau (BBVP), with decades of experience in vocational education and training.
-
The Ausbildungsverbund Teltow e. V. (AVT), a training and education service provider for Berlin/Brandenburg.
-
P-Informatik, which was responsible for the technical implementation of a physical sensor-based training environment.
-
The GFBM Academy, which assumed overall project coordination.
The central challenge was to create an infrastructure that connects two worlds:
- a remote-based learning platform for the digital delivery of content, and
- an administrative platform that enables course bookings and is also linked to the control software of the sensor-based training environment.
A partner was required to ensure seamless technical implementation and integration. STL took on this role with cimoio academy, which functions as a hybrid system. It operates both as an LMS for content delivery and a TMS for administration and training planning.
Solution
The project resulted in a hybrid solution that combines digital learning content delivered via a learning platform with a physical learning environment.
For this purpose, P-Informatik developed a model and training facility in which participants can gain hands-on experience with sensor technology, such as programming inductive sensors.
Because this facility is only available for limited periods due to capacity constraints, STL provided the appropriate technical solution with cimoio academy:
-
The TMS (Training Management System) controls the availability of the training facility and organizes the allocation of practice time slots.
-
At the same time, the GFBM Academy uses the LMS (Learning Management System) to compile digital learning content into learning paths and link them with coaching sessions.
The result is accessible via the project platform r-learning.de. It is an integrated learning platform (LMS/TMS) that enables SMEs to digitize, structure, and centrally provide learning content. In addition to the efficient organization of learning resources, this approach has created a framework in which learning content can be produced sustainably, distributed efficiently, and made available to a broad target audience.
Result
Within the project, the goals were not only achieved but also successfully transitioned into permanent operation. The funded initiative played a key role in establishing the developed solution.
Today, the GFBM Academy relies permanently on the cimoio academy product line as an integrated LMS and TMS. It manages training plans, delivers digital learning content, and organizes coaching sessions efficiently. Moreover, the system controls the availability of the sensor-based training facility and makes it transparently bookable for learners.
During the project, approximately 150–200 company consultations were conducted and evaluated. The platform was presented to 40 companies and industry representatives, including the automotive guild and the crafts guild, who successfully tested it.
These efforts allowed the GFBM Academy to establish a practice-oriented learning ecosystem. It supports digitalization in work and learning processes while integrating hands-on programming exercises with physical sensor systems.
Today, cimoio academy remains the central platform, used long-term in the Academy’s daily operations. This step is essential for sustainably embedding hybrid learning formats in SMEs.