Utilisation of Space Across Campus through the Use of ICT Workshop.

Last week’s Utilisation of Space Across Campus was one of the most interesting and popular SUSTE-TECH workshops. The event was attended by over 50 delegates from various estates, ICT and e-learning departments whose roles within the FHE sector requires knowledge of all that is pedagogic, technical and sustainable. Overall feedback from the workshop was very positive, scoring 8.6 on the overall delegate evaluation grading scale with delegates requesting additional information on each of the topics covered and notification of similar future workshops.

The usual mix of ICT, energy and sustainable managers were in attendance, but this workshop attracted the attention of architects, space planners, heads of e learning departments and engineers. This mix of professionals is indicative of the ever expanding skills-set that’s required to ensure the efficient operation of an FHE estate in 2011 and into the future.

After delegates were briefed on the SUSTE-TECH project and JISC’s other estates led projects, Toni Kelly and Matt Sherlock from the University of Birmingham’s Learning Space Division, presented on how by integrating timetabling and space management across campus they anticipate a reduction in the number of over-bookings thus saving time and money for their institution.

For more information on the University of Birmingham check out the presentations on: http://www.slideshare.net/Suste-Tech/2matt-sherlock-2

Graeme Horner from FG Technology presented on the benefits of using their remote control device for PC’s.  These devices can be placed in (or under) a desk or work surface where they duplicate the key controls of the PC. This allows the main computer to be stored elsewhere (up to 20m away). Because PC’s are concealed, they reduce clutter, improve the asthetic appearance and free up classroom space. It also means that computers are is less likely to be stolen or vandalised. FG’s remote control devices are silent so noise is reduced and as PC’s are stored elsewhere, they not add to classroom heat. This keeps the running costs of classrooms and lab spaces to a minimum.

For more information check out Graeme’s slides on : http://www.slideshare.net/Suste-Tech/4graeme-horne-fg-technology-eauc-powerpoint

John Pryzbilla from Mosaic Space presented part one of Optimising the Sustainable Performance of Classroom Space. John’s presentation included a formulae for calculating the utilisation of classroom space; Room Frequency x Seat Occupancy = Utilisation. This formula should prove useful for timetabling staff and space planners when trying to maximise the use of lecture halls, labs and classrooms at the beginning of each academic semester. While many delegates may already be aware that “the greenest building is the one that has not yet been built”, John also informed delegates that “every pound (£) wasted on empty space means that less money is available for research, teaching and learning. Poorly used space makes everyone work harder to pay for it”.

John slides are available on; (coming soon)

 Finally, Cathy Stewart and Mel Starrs, both from PRP Architects, presented on part two of Optimising the Sustainable Performance of Classroom Space. Cathy covered the importance of providing learning spaces that have adequate fresh air and oxygen, have comfortable surroundings and provide sufficient visual stimulation with minimal distraction. It is hoped that by providing these pedagogic conditions, students will be able to learn more efficiently and retain as much information as possible. In the traditional learning method of lecturing, where students sit quietly and try to absorb and retain (and hopefully understand) what being covered, only 5% of what’s being taught is retained by students. However when “learning by doing”, in the case of practical experiments and work experience, 75% of what’s being taught is retained. The difficulty however is balancing pedagogy with limited space while still factoring in the three learning environments; “teacher centred” (classroom), “student centred” (open labs and studying space) and the “third space” (informal common areas such as the outdoors, cafeteria, etc). PRP Architects also covered the importance of building staff and student’s confidence in the use of technology as well as the need for on-going training to keep pace with advancements in  the latest technology. They also covered the topic of understanding all that technology had to offer to enhance the pedagogic experience, save time and lessen the impact on the environment.  Their presentation is available on http://www.slideshare.net/Suste-Tech/6-cathy-stewart-prp

Unfortunately, Paul Ritchie from Leeds Metropolitan was unable to present so delegates missed out on hearing about how their JISC funded Light and Heat by Timetabling project was progressing. The SUSTE-TECH project may run another workshop on the topic of timetabling and space planning at some point (most likely in 2012). Delegates attend event may have the opportunity to hear Paul Ritchie and Sue Holms present then. http://www.slideshare.net/Suste-Tech/3paul-ritchie-heat-light-by-timetable-effective-measures

Slides from each of the presentations are also available on the EAUC’s SUSTE-TECH workshop webpage ; http://www.eauc.org.uk/workshops

Space Planning Recommened Reading

Just some recommened reading for anyone interested in the subject of Campus Space Planning and related topics.

 

 First Questions for Designing Higher Education Learning Spaces by  

Scott Bennett

Discovering the campus together: A mobile and computer-based learning experience

by Mar Pérez-Sanagustín et al

Architecture design studio culture and learning spaces: a holistic approach to the design and planning of learning facilities by N.A.G. Abdullah et al. 

 

^{Each are available on Science Direct.}

Utilisation of Space in FHE Institutions.

There are 46 delegates registered to attend next Wednesdays Utilisation of Space Across Campus through the Use of ICT workshop. This is the largest number of delegates that have registered to attend any of the SUSTE-TECH workshops. Numbers are especially high considering the event is being held during the last week of August when typically ICT and Estate managers are on annual leave. Without a doubt this is because of the topic being covered.

Space planning has in recent years become an increasingly important aspect of FHE estate management. This is mainly due to increases in real estate prices as well as the on-going cost of running large estates. University and colleges have been burdened with the task of having to source supplementary funding themselves since the 2010 cuts to the sector. In fact since the cuts, estates managers have been attempting to make maximum use of their assets by renting out classrooms to businesses for events such as conferences, workshops, tradeshows, parties and weddings etc.  In order to do this however, campuses must not only be fit for purpose but also “look the part”. Since the recent hike in tuition fees, students are also expecting an improved overall pedagogic experience with emphasis on their learning environment.

In more modern or newly refurbished institutions, old fashioned cork notice boards and brightly coloured walls have been phased out. Instead classrooms and lecture theatres have become digitised and streamlined. PC’s are reduced to simply a keyboard and monitor, both smaller and lighter than before, and wires, cables and leads have almost vanished thanks to wireless connections. Space planning is no longer simply about the allocation of seats per classroom and adequate light and heat. There are legal requirements also to consider along with the cognitive, psychological, administrative and ICT requirements as well as staff and student welfare.

It is hoped that delegates will leave Wednesday’s workshops with a greater understanding of how to make the most of their institutions available space and how to incorporate the latest in ICT to help improve student’s learning experience and of course how to do it all as sustainably as possible.

Procurement Staff Survey

 I recently circulated an e mail to all FHE procurement staff inviting them to participate in a survey that I’d created on behalf of the Sustainable Procurement's Centre for Excellence (SPCE's) Green ICT advisory committee. The aim of this survey was to obtain direct feedback from FHE procurement staff regarding the purchasing of sustainable ICT equipment. Results from a previous ICT manager survey, carried out in November 2010 (and again in April 2011) indicated that there was a gap between what ICT managers knew about sustainability and what was being asked of them in their roles at FHE institutions (see blog from April 2011).

It is hoped that this survey will do the same for procurement managers and will also highlight procurement staff's interest in environmental issues while at the same time provide participants the opportunity to inform the committee of Green ICT procurement issues that otherwise may be overlooked. Of course I always like to offer a “carrot” at the end of every “stick” so automatically entered each participant of the survey into a draw to win a £100 gift certificate from an online retailer of their choice. With 25 procurement managers already having completed the survey, I think the “carrot” did the trick. The survey remains open to all procurement managers until Friday 2nd of September, after which point the results will be collected and analysed and presented at the 2011 COUPE conference.

If you are a procurement manager and work in a FHE institution simply click on the following link to complete the survey;  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8FRDSXV

It is hoped that the results of this survey will  provide useful information and data that will lead to an overall improvement in the efficiency of  FHE's green ICT procurement processes.

The 2011 Green Gown Award Applicants

The EAUC’s 2011 Annual GGA have gotten of to a good start. Since its launch date, 239 institutions have submitted applications in 13 different categories, one of which is Green ICT. Of the 13 different award categories the Positive Behaviour (aka Behavioural Change) and Carbon Reduction categories had the greatest number of applicants. This is hardly surprising as pressure for institutions to reach carbon targets of 34% by 2020 (in comparison to 1990 levels) is ongoing and research has shown that behavioural change is one of the main factors underpinning the success or failure of sustainable projects. The remit of the SUSTE-TECH project examines both topics and their application to sustainable ICT. Behavioural change overlaps with quite few of JISC’s greening of ICT projects (either directly or indirectly) so if you’re interested  to know what those project are, check them out by clicking on following link http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/greeningict.aspx

The SYMPACT project.

I met earlier this week with members of the SYMPACT team at the Folk House in Bristol for lunch.  The SYMPACT project is being led by Dr. Chris Preist and Dr. Mike Yearworth and is being assisted by Paul Shabajee and Daniel Schien, both from the University of Bristol. The SYMPACT project is examining the environmental impact of both print and online media.  As the use of digital media is constantly increasing and shows no signs of reversing or even slowing down, it’s imperative at this relatively  early stage to identify the most environmentally sustainable type of media, (be it paper based  or digital) and push for its wider use.

The University of Bristol has partnered with Guardian News and Media and the University of Surrey’s Centre for Environmental Strategy to build different scenarios models that indicate how the news industry might look in the future, after a greater move towards the use of digital technology. The subject of  behavioural change is also being examined.  In this instance it involves examining the change from the use of paper materials as a source of media to their online equivalent or the uptake of electronic reader devices in place of books.

The questions the SYMPACT projects hopes to answer include; what is the environmental impact of both print and online media? How will changes in technology alter this impact over time? How is digital technology changing customer behaviour now, and how might this happen in the future? What new business models do technological advances open up, and how will they affect the environmental impact? How will environmental factors, such as carbon pricing, act as business and behavioural drivers within this system? Beyond energy and climate, what other sustainability implications might this transformation have?

At the meeting we also discussed the overlap between the SYMPACT project and that of the SUSTE-TECH project, (and indeed the aims of  JISC’s 34 other JISC Greening of ICT projects too). After our meeting, I forwarded onto the SYMPACT team, information and data on how to calculate (and how I derived) the EF of paper in the hope it would prove useful for answering their research questions. As both project’s are looking to reduce ICT’s impact on the environment I’m confident the SYMPACT and SUSTE-TECH project will continue to share ideas and knowledge on greener ICT.
For more information on the SYMPACT prpject, click on the following link http://www.sympact.org/

Greening Your Institution's Network Systems Workshop

Despite just 3 expert presenters at last Wednesday’s Greening your Institutions Network System workshop in Bristol, delegates graded the workshop 8.45/10.Consisting mainly of FHE Network and ICT managers concerned about the energy use of their institutions switches, routers and cables, the workshop also consisted of researchers and representatives from the private and public sectors.

 The first presenter, Prof. Jaafar Elmirghani from the University of Leeds, presented on the Intelligent Energy Aware project. One of the findings Prof. Elimirghani shared with delegates was; the more efficient you make a network system the more people are incline to use it. This of course leads to an increase in network traffic and a corresponding increase in energy use. The Intelligent Energy Aware project is working on a solution to this problem. Researchers aim to find a way of maximise the energy efficiency of network systems so that it can handle the ever increasing number of internet users, while at the same time reduce its energy requirements.

Simon Palmer, the Systems Development Officer at Coleg Sir Gar in Wales covered what his FE college has done to reduce network related energy costs. His presentation entitled “Trying to save power and putting Gigabit to the Edge” focussed on the college’s use of switches and routers and through their replacement with more efficient equipment, the college reduced its network carbon footprint by 80%.   Simon’s closing remarks on greening network equipment was for network managers “not to replace old kit until absolutely necessary”.

Finally, from the business perspective Russell Davies from Cisco Systems showcased what the network giant is doing to help customers run more energy efficient systems. Russell’s presentation included an overshot on the difficulties public sectors organisations are faced with in terms of reducing their ICT related energy use but then offered a summary of the 10 recommendations from CISCO’s Operational Efficiency Report to help tackle those difficulties.  The presentation which is available on the EAUC’s website offers an array of sustainable network solutions and is work checking out. Russell then showcased CISCO’s new LAN products and demonstrated UCS (Unified Compute Solution) direct and indirect energy use. Network managers may find the following URL’s useful www.cisco.com/go/energywise and www.cisco.com/go/UCS.

After the presentations were complete, the Q&A session commenced. Delegates seized the opportunity to question each of the 3 presenters on the topics they’d just covered.  One of the topics covered was the difficulty of accurately establishing the Ecological footprint of ICT and Network equipment. Prof. Elmirghani agreed that as manufactures don’t have all the necessary information on their products supply chain, an accurate EF cannot be established which makes designing the most sustainable network system more difficult. Perhaps this is an area within the wider green ICT spectrum that deserves more research. If any readers are aware of a research project that is examining the EF of ICT equipment please rely or comment to this blog.

The Coleg Sir Gar and Cisco System’s presentations are available on the EAUC’s Greening ICT with JISC webpage http://www.eauc.org.uk/workshops