University of Hertfordshire – Reaching for the Stars
With a history going back to 1941, the University of Hertfordshire has been delivering higher education for over 65 years. Originally established to train aircraft apprentices, it later developed into Hatfield Technical College before achieving university status in 1992.
AV Refresh
Bayfordbury, a satellite campus of the university, is a self contained small teaching building looking after science based subjects. As the university's teaching observatory for astronomy and astrophysics, it offers students a hands on experience with some of the latest technology in the field and is one of the best equipped teaching observatories in the country.
As it had been a number of years since the site had undergone an AV upgrade and as the university had started to move more teaching to the campus, as well as host external conferences and events, including open days, it was decided that an AV refresh was needed across the site. After an initial consultation between the university and its AV consultant Hewshott, Strive AV were chosen to install audio visual systems in 8 spaces at the Bayfordbury campus, including a live observatory.
Project Details
As the university works to a largely standardised kit list, they once again opted for Top-Tec lecterns, NEC projectors and displays, Crestron control and Polycom video conferencing systems. One unique element of this installation, however, was the decision to invest in 86" Clevertouch Pro touchscreens for the science laboratories and the Bayfordbury Observatory control room.
The Clevertouch Pro displays are being used in the science laboratories to help with teaching, and in the observatory control room, which houses the space telescopes, where they are used during open days and sessions to highlight the work of the scientists. In the control room, the Clevertouch display is joined by large format NEC displays on the wall, allowing incoming streams from the telescopes to be shown on the wall while visitors can interact with the images on the Clevertouch Pro.
Project Challenges
As the university had carried out research into the needs of users now and in the future and created a design based on this, there were few changes needed when Strive AV came on board. However, one major issue which Strive AV helped to overcome was the need for on-site rack builds due to access issues at the site.
Timescale was also a significant challenge. Although the upgrade was carried out over the summer when the teaching schedule is limited, the rooms are frequently used for external events. For example, the biggest conference room included in the refurb had multiple events over the summer, so installations had to be dovetailed in between one finishing and the next one starting. In one case, a conference ended the day with the old kit, Strive AV came in and completed the install ready for the next day with user training carried out in the morning.
Key Challenges
- •On-site rack builds required due to access issues
- •Tight timescale with rooms frequently used for external events
- •Installations had to be coordinated between conference bookings
- •Ensuring minimal disruption to teaching and events
The Solution
Clevertouch Pro Touchscreens
86" interactive displays installed in science laboratories and the observatory control room, enabling interactive teaching and showcasing telescope images.
Standardised Technology
Top-Tec lecterns, NEC projectors and displays, Crestron control systems, and Polycom video conferencing systems providing consistent solutions across 8 spaces.
Coordinated Installation
Careful coordination between Strive AV and Hewshott to manage on-site rack builds and schedule installations around conference bookings.
Equipment Installed
Project Outcome
Enhanced Teaching & Research
- Clevertouch Pro displays enable interactive teaching in science laboratories
- Observatory control room showcases telescope images interactively during open days
- Large format NEC displays allow telescope streams on wall while visitors interact on Clevertouch
Operational Benefits
- All installations completed on schedule despite tight timescale
- Positive feedback from users with no technology issues
- On-site rack builds managed effectively despite access challenges
- Success led to two subsequent installations at other campus locations
"We had quite a tight timescale for the delivery of all three of the projects and they've all come in on schedule with not that many variations, which is good considering the speed at which we had to deploy the projects. Feedback from users has been positive and we haven't had any issues with the technology we've put in, and while we'd have liked everything built offsite, we had absolutely no choice and it was done really well."
"Having quite a powerful interactive display in that environment, they're absolutely overjoyed with it. They were running a projector and screen before but they're now able to demonstrate their work and the images from the telescopes in a much better way – and it's interactive so it's helping them showcase their work much better than a projector and a screen would."
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