When COVID-19 hit, schools across Canton de Vaud, Switzerland’s third-largest canton, faced a major challenge. Like other schools across the world, they had to quickly shift thousands of students and teachers to a remote learning system. Here’s how they faced the challenge, and carried efficiency into operations beyond the crisis, with Teamup.
Facing an educational crisis
The existing scheduling systems used across Vaud’s 93 schools, 92,000 students, and nearly 10,000 teachers were not adequate. Schools had a mix of tools, but nothing that was capable of the scale and complexity required in an unprecedented crisis.
They needed a solution that was:
- User-friendly: Students, parents, and teachers would be using the system with very little help.
- Fast to implement: Teachers were already overwhelmed, so adoption had to be seamless.
- Flexible: It had to provide basic scheduling plus document sharing.
- Scalable: Setting up access for thousands of users had to be feasible without massive admin work.
They were already using Teamup in some schools for event calendars. Could it handle this bigger challenge?
Implementing the solution
Bringing new technology into the school system had been an uphill battle. Rolling out new tools had to be slow and methodical—when it happened at all. But the COVID crisis meant there wasn’t time for slow.
There could be no phased rollout or in-person training. Administrative staff were already working beyond capacity; there was no time to manually create thousands of individual accounts or set up complex, fussy tools. Everything would have to work quickly. Everyone would have to jump in and learn the system by using it. It was a huge challenge during a time of stress and instability, but it also carried an opportunity for positive change toward more efficiency and better communication.
“The key was keeping it simple. We didn’t introduce all the features at once—just what they needed to get started. That made adoption really fast.”
-Francois Jaegar
The right advocate
Having the right person in place at the right time makes all the difference. In this situation, Francois Jaeger was just that person. He was already familiar with Teamup, having begun to use it as a limited activities calendar.
“We needed something simple, something everyone could understand immediately. A calendar is something universal—everyone knows how to use one.”
Because he understood the schools’ needs and the essential factors for a solution that would meet those needs, he was able to identify Teamup as a potential solution.
Simple access
“For students and parents, it had to be as easy as possible. We couldn’t ask thousands of people to create accounts. A shared link made everything instant. Teachers didn’t have to manage access, reset passwords, or deal with logins. They just shared the link, and students could see their assignments immediately.”
The biggest advantage? Simple, secure access via calendar links. Instead of trying to set up thousands of accounts, admin staff could generate shareable links. “The ability to create shareable links while keeping control at the administrative level was a game-changer, says Francois. “It made security manageable without adding complexity for users.” With no logins required, there were no issues with account access or wrong passwords. Everyone could immediately start using the system. The simplicity of access made it possible to deploy Teamup fast across 93 schools in the Swiss canton of Vaud. Within the first week of launching Teamup, 100,000+ users (teachers, students and parents) were up and running, 40,000 events were created, and 27,000+ class documents were uploaded to the calendar.
Scalable setup
“The setup was fast and scalable. Once the data was imported, everything was ready to use. We could generate the calendars and shareable links efficiently, without burdening our small administrative team.”
Francois and team were able to scale setup efficiently with a smart workflow. They used Teamup’s bulk import feature to set up calendar structures and generate calendar links for each school. “We had to set up access for thousands of students and teachers very quickly. Without the ability to bulk import, it would have taken far too long to create all the necessary links manually,” explains Francois.
User-friendly design
“When you tell people they need to learn a new tool, they hesitate. But when you show them a calendar with clear information, they just get it.”
A calendar is instantly recognizable; no learning curve required. By presenting Teamup as a familiar tool, everyone felt more comfortable using it. “We positioned it as ‘just a calendar.’ That made it much easier for teachers and parents to accept,” says Francois. “No complicated systems, just a straightforward way to share assignments and schedules.” Teachers were able to jump in and get the essential work done so students could keep learning. And while they stuck to the basics at first, many expanded how they used Teamup as they discovered more possibilities. “At first, it was just about sharing assignments,” says Francois. “But once teachers got comfortable, they started exploring more options. Teachers discovered they could also collect completed assignments, not just send them out. That wasn’t planned—it just happened naturally.”
Expanding beyond crisis
“As people used Teamup, they found new ways to integrate it into daily operations. It became more than just a temporary solution.”
While the crisis has subsided and schools are back to normal, Teamup remains and has become part of the everyday school life in Canton of Vaud. What started as a basic scheduling and assignment-sharing system has remained, expanded, and better integrated. As of January 2025, over 80 Teamup master calendars, some of them with more than 100 sub-calendars, are active among the schools. They are no longer managed by a central team at the canton level, but by administrators in the respective schools.
“Even after we returned to normal, many schools kept using Teamup because it made scheduling easier,” explains Francois. “Some schools expanded their use—booking rooms, organizing events, managing shared spaces. It became a natural part of the school operations.”
Streamlining schedules
Scheduling is a core function in any school system. From managing classrooms and staff to booking shared spaces and keeping parents informed, having a single, customizable platform saves time and reduces complexity. As François puts it, “It’s very easy for the school to manage all these things because everything is in the same place. Teamup stayed because it solved problems beyond the pandemic. Now, it’s not about emergency adaptation; it’s about efficiency.”
Classroom management
Thousands of teachers in the Vaud schools use Teamup daily to manage classroom schedules and assignments efficiently. Teachers can put all the learning content needed in one place: Links, notes, images, and documents. Parents and students have secure calendar access to see due dates and access the materials. Students can even use comments to ask questions or submit completed work directly through Teamup.
Staff coordination
Teamup is also used as an efficient internal system to organize staff schedules and track availability. Schools can set the direction and plan out the major events for the academic year. Making it all visible on a school-wide internal calendar prevents scheduling conflicts between departments and allow administrators to make better decisions about resource use. And all staff members can keep up with school-wide events and see any updates made to the calendar.
Resource and facility booking
Schools rely on Teamup for internal booking needs, such as reserving iPads and other hardware. Teamup also helps with managing use of shared spaces like sports facilities. In some cases, schools share these spaces with local municipalities. Teamup simplifies the scheduling process, reducing the workload for administrators who no longer need to follow up with endless emails or phone calls to coordinate bookings.
Event planning and communication
Of course parents need to stay informed about academic cycles, test dates, and school holidays. But school life extends beyond the classroom. Teamup provides a secure, mobile-friendly way to share event information for academics, sports, groups, and extracurricular activities all in one place. Updates happen in real time, synced to the Teamup app—so there’s no need for parents to search through outdated PDFs or email threads. Families can check event details and stay informed, all from their phones.
Integrating with other tools
“It is nice that we could inject the content in different places and have websites for the parents. There are all kind of events that gravitate around each school and that can concern the parents, so now Teamup is being integrated with different tools to share this information. It’s very easy for the school to manage all these things because everything is at the same place.”
While Teamup is an important tool, it isn’t the only one in use! Vaud schools use a variety of tools for different aspects of their daily operations. Being able to integrate Teamup helps staff and teachers to customize and simplify workflows the way they prefer.
- Microsoft Teams: Finely tuned Teamup calendar views are embedded within Teams channels for tailored, team-specific scheduling information. Read-only access prevents accidental deletions.
- SharePoint: Staff use Teamup within SharePoint to manage room and hardware bookings. A “ticker” calendar reminds them to use personal links for reservations.
- Outlook: Teachers and administrators can view school event calendars in Outlook for easy reference.
- School websites: Parent-facing calendars are embedded in school websites, allowing families to view academic cycles and event details. They can easily add the calendar link to their Teamup app to stay synced on mobile.
Finding success with Teamup calendars
School operations are complex; there are many factors to consider and many people who need to stay informed, at different levels and in varying roles. Teamup helps bring all the information together for streamlined, efficient scheduling while providing secure, customized options for access and sharing.
For the Vaud schools, working together is a key factor for efficient school calendars. There’s ongoing collaboration between the Vaud administrative staff and the individual schools. Francois and his team provide ongoing support for all the schools. And every year, they oversee a major process of “clearing out” the calendars from the prior school term and importing new data to set up for the next school year. Teamup’s bulk import and export feature provides an efficient method for clearing old data, importing new data, and setting up new access links.
Interested in finding out how Teamup can help your school or organization simplify scheduling and bring efficiency to daily operations? Learn more about Teamup’s unique features and get started today.
