Introduction
Many colleges and universities are working on ways to improve their students’ experience, business efficiencies and environmental performance by better utilising data. This data can be directly related to learning and part of the overall campus experience.
The COVID-19 crisis has brought much of this development into sharp focus and, in some cases, accelerated.
The current landscape
UK universities and colleges with sophisticated management of data and analytics are enjoying better use of resources and facilities, delivering more personalised services to students (often in real time) and enhancing life on campus.
The use of sensors and data collection is becoming commonplace, as are university mobile apps as a way for students to access services.
The types of use typically include buildings and energy management, management of student learning, navigating the campus and access to services and facilities. Increasingly, health, wellbeing and safety also feature in mobile apps, together with opportunities for events and activities. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a shift in behaviour with a rapid increase in online access to services, contactless transactions and payments, remote learning and meetings. Aspects of these are likely to remain as long-term changes, along with a renewed awareness of health and hygiene focused on no-touch facilities, air quality and flow and density of people traffic, including one-way routing and use of outdoor spaces.
Many organisations are also integrating more closely with their local area on ‘smart city’ initiatives, often including transport services, energy, health and the environment. From finding the next bus to saving water in toilets, communities are embracing the combination of a sustainability agenda, the need for cost and resource efficient solutions, and demand for online and mobile personalised services.
Exploiting existing digital systems and tools
Many existing technologies are already being harnessed to improve the student experience. For example:
Wayfinding
Airports often use wayfinding to help passengers reach their gate in time. There are educational versions of wayfinding that help students get to the right room at the right time and find an available PC.
Accessible routes
Tools such as Google Maps give students a better experience as they navigate their campuses when learning and socialising and, increasingly, can adapt to individual need. Google Maps now includes basic routing for wheelchair users, for example. The availability of information and services at the touch of a button can make what could be a daunting experience easier and friendlier.
Wifi
As wifi becomes ubiquitous across university and college campuses, organisational IT teams are using wireless technologies to track devices and find out which areas of the campus are busy, troublesome for wireless devices, or have too many devices for the network routers to cope with.
Space usage
Space within educational institutions is always at a premium. Having a clear understanding of how space is used will not only enable more efficient use of existing spaces but also determine which spaces are fit for purpose, healthy environments. Many estates departments are fitting sensors measuring CO2 levels, movement, temperature and light levels and using the resulting data to make changes to those spaces; some use smart technologies to do this automatically.
Chatbots
Some universities and colleges use chatbots to facilitate student support and general queries, even though integrating a chatbot interface with university and college systems is a real challenge.
Facial recognition
Experimental use of facial recognition for attendance monitoring, as well as early work on emotional recognition for engagement, has demonstrated the potential of such technologies. There have been ethical concerns, though, over the algorithms and whether they really do tell us a true picture.
Innovative approaches
Across the UK, universities and colleges are researching, developing, designing, and delivering their own tools and services in the intelligent campus space. Some of these are narrowly focused and closed systems. Combining data from these various sources could offer new insights and opportunities.
The sector has a need for effective systems that enable data to be gathered from physical places and from systems that record and monitor space and equipment use, timetabling and other activities. We know that making timely interventions will enable students to learn more effectively and in a personalised, adaptive manner, and ensure that the organisation is running efficiently.