Royal College of Art opts for hybrid learning with DTEN

This art and design university in London has opted for hybrid teaching with the creation of flexible and versatile spaces, equipped with all-in-one video conferencing solutions from DTEN to Zoom.

Royal College of Art (RCA) It is the university of art and design, considered the oldest in the world in operation, and one of the most influential graduate institutions in these disciplines. With three campuses in London, located in South Kensington, Battersea y White City, in which they are formed 2.300 students.

After offering a quick and effective response to this large number of students during the pandemic, which allowed them to continue learning remotely through the platform Zoom, This forced hybrid learning has led to a project to renew the institution, with the creation of flexible and versatile spaces to offer a real hybrid teaching model.

Those responsible for the RCA have evolved and encouraged the use of Zoom in all their facilities, with the consequent configuration of technologically equipped and easy-to-use rooms to respond to the different needs of students and teachers within the university.

“The CAR is an environment in constant movement: meeting rooms become teaching spaces, which in turn become other open offices, and these are converted back into study rooms every six months - explains their IT services manager., Alex Watt-. With each new term, a new 'wall' is raised or torn down, so one of the keys was to have a flexible system that could be moved quite easily and very versatile”.

The audio and video systems integrator Strive OFF previously carried out a successful test that has materialized in this project, in which more than 120 Zoom-enabled spaces, equipped with all-in-one collaboration and video conferencing devices DTEN D7, mounted on mobile carts to offer maximum flexibility.

As Watt points out, “DTEN D7 systems are incredibly useful, since they can be installed practically in any space where we have a halfway decent WiFi connection and they simply work, and they can also be used in a more creative way”.

Since its implementation, Royal College of Art officials have seen numerous benefits, how to provide your academics with a flexible teaching solution where they can learn in person and remotely, in addition to attracting more geographically dispersed students to your center.

The fixed solutions of your traditional educational environment, such as projectors and digital screens, have been replaced to support the new hybrid teaching method. “Where there is now flexible seating on campuses, There is also flexible technology so that it can be used more effectively”, Watt adds..

Besides, They have also managed to save resources in device management, as he points out James King, IT director at RCA: “The amount of resources we dedicate to supporting units has been drastically reduced, since they are self-service. Everyone is very happy to enter one of our spaces with D7 and Zoom, log in and start working, which has led to an increase in the satisfaction of our user base”.