Public Sector, Education & Research

Oviedo – October 16, 2026 -- Oviedo Police Department has launched an automated system that sends 911 callers text or email status updates on their case after they hang up with dispatch.

Oviedo enrolls 911 callers in text and email case updates

Once someone calls 9-1-1, the department can enroll the caller to receive updates as the case progresses. Callers no longer need to phone back and ask a dispatcher or officer for a status check.

Tool targets the information gap after a 911 call

The city says the system is designed to close the information gap that often follows a 9-1-1 call, when a caller reports an incident but has no straightforward way to learn what happened next.

Oro Valley – October 16, 2026 -- The Oro Valley Police Department (OVPD) has launched Community Connect, a Versaterm-powered system that texts residents automatically as their call or case moves forward.

OVPD logs resident phone numbers at first contact to trigger automated texts

Once a resident contacts OVPD, the department records the caller's phone number. The system then sends automated texts as the case develops. Each message includes a link to official case information online, which residents can open at any time.

Delay notices go out when responding officers run behind schedule

If an officer is running late, the system sends a notice telling the resident about the delay. Residents no longer have to wonder whether help is still on the way.

Douglas – October 16, 2026 -- Douglas Police Department has launched an automated victim notification system on Versaterm CommunityConnect that requires no additional staff and no restructuring of its records workflow.

Automated alerts replace manual follow-up by officers and advocates

The system sends crime victims case information and status changes as their cases move through investigation. Staff no longer have to track down and contact each victim individually.

Department leadership describes the system as an upgrade over a manual, ad hoc process. That process depended on individual officers or victim advocates remembering to follow up, and it was prone to delays and inconsistency as caseloads grew.

Charlotte County – October 16, 2026 -- The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office is using Versaterm's CommunityConnect to give crime victims real-time updates from the initial 911 call through an offender's eventual release, according to a WINK News report.

CommunityConnect covers case stages that VINE was not built to track

The tool runs alongside VINE, Florida's existing statewide victim notification network. CommunityConnect covers the earlier stages of a case, including the initial response and investigation, which VINE was not originally designed to follow.

Victims cite fewer calls to detectives and advocates

Victims interviewed for the segment said they value knowing where a case stands without repeatedly calling detectives or victim advocates. They described the weeks immediately after an incident as the period when uncertainty is highest.

Sumner County – October 16, 2026 -- The Sumner County Sheriff's Office took first place in the 2026 Versaterm Innovation Awards for a school resource officer (SRO) data program that turns daily SRO interactions into county-wide safety trend analysis.

Program converts daily SRO records into trend data across county schools

The program uses technology and data collected during everyday SRO interactions to identify safety trends across Sumner County schools. According to WSMV4's report, the division tracks incidents, follow-ups and pattern data over time.

That record gives administrators and deputies a clearer view of where and when issues tend to arise. It replaces reliance on individual officer memory or informal notes.

New Orleans – October 16, 2026 -- The Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine has received preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), clearing the way to recruit its inaugural class, which starts in 2027.

The school describes itself as the only HBCU college of medicine in the Gulf South. It will begin recruiting students in the coming weeks, with applications available through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS).

Partnership of Xavier University of Louisiana and Ochsner Health reached accreditation in two years

Xavier University of Louisiana and Ochsner Health formed the College of Medicine in 2024. It earned candidate status in October 2025 and hosted an LCME survey visit in June 2026. The LCME then determined that the school met the requirements for preliminary accreditation.

Austin – October 15, 2026 -- Interplay Learning has launched Skill Verification, a simulation-based assessment tool with an initial catalog of 20 assessments that lets employers test whether a worker can perform trades-specific tasks before dispatch, contractor authorization, new-hire placement or promotion.

Simulated assessments replace interviews and multiple-choice tests

Employers in skilled trades and industrial roles have limited ways to verify hands-on ability before putting someone on the job, according to Interplay. Traditional assessments can require expensive equipment, dedicated facilities and significant supervisor time. Interviews and multiple-choice tests do not show whether a worker can execute a task.

Skill Verification uses simulations that mirror real equipment and conditions. Supervisors and safety leaders receive objective, step-level evidence of readiness across electrical safety, industrial controls and other areas.

Beijing – October 15, 2026 -- TAL Education Group (NYSE: TAL) will release unaudited results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2027 before the U.S. market opens on Thursday, October 29, 2026. The quarter ended August 31, 2026.

TAL schedules live call for 8:00 a.m. Eastern on October 29

The China-based smart learning solutions provider will host a conference call and live webcast at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time, which is 8:00 p.m. in Beijing. The call follows the results release on the same day.

Participants must pre-register to join the call

Dial-in access requires advance registration. Registrants receive an email with dial-in numbers, a passcode and a unique access PIN. Registration stays open at any time, including up to and after the call start time.

Italy – October 15, 2026 -- Anatomage has added two obesity reference bodies, Class I (BMI 30–34.9) and Class III (BMI above 40), to its Anatomage Table software. Eligible tables receive the update at no additional cost.

Obesity models target a condition affecting one in eight people worldwide

The models follow WHO and CDC classifications and are described as one of the first full-body, interactive 3D resources for studying clinical obesity. They show external changes such as skin folds, stretch marks and increased subcutaneous and visceral fat, which can displace and compress organs. Internal changes include muscle hypertrophy, myosteatosis, liver changes linked to MASLD and ovarian changes linked to PMOS.

Dublin – October 15, 2026 -- Elsevier has pledged 4,000 complimentary AI product licenses and an estimated €1m a year in in-kind support and funding to the European Commission's AI in Science Enablers Initiative.

The commitment was announced at the AI in Science Summit in Dublin. More than 1,000 participants from the research, technology, business and policy communities attended the event, which launched the Commission's effort to mobilize private-sector and philanthropic support for European science.

Elsevier splits 4,000 licenses evenly across four AI and clinical products

Elsevier will provide 1,000 licenses each for four products to European researchers, healthcare professionals and students: