1. Education space at Cambridge Better facilities, better access, better experiences
22 November, 2017
Professor Graham Virgo, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education

2. Overview Education space at Cambridge – a vision Current challenges
Work underway
Programme Board for Education
Next steps

3. 1. Education space at Cambridge – a vision

4. 1. Education space at Cambridge – a vision
High quality education spaces
Help attract the brightest students, create positive experiences
Support new approaches to learning and discovery
Encourage better and more efficient use of space

5. 2. Current challenges

6. 2. Current challenges Resources
Capital investment is rising – £144.5m spent on estate development in 2015/16
Demand for capital investment is very high – at least £3bn costed in to the University’s capital plan
We must make more efficient use of existing assets, including education space
Cambridge has the lowest teaching space utilisation rate in the UK HE sector S

7. 2. Current challenges Operational
Our lecture theatres could accommodate the whole undergraduate body simultaneously, but
There is a continual challenge in distributing teaching and examination activities across the estate, especially since postgraduate students need to be accommodated too
Redevelopment and refurbishment responds to academic needs but adds to pressures on available space
We lack the scheduling data and modelling tools to ensure our estate supports current and future educational requirements S

8. 2. Current challenges Design and condition
76 per cent of students say the quality of campus facilities is an important factor in choosing where to study*
But there are many low-quality spaces across the University – from whole sites to internal facilities e.g. Sidgwick site lecture block
These spaces do not inspire or encourage the kinds of interactions we need to maintain our global competitiveness
* Higher Education Design Quality Forum Research, 2013 S

9. 2. Current challenges User experiences
Many Faculties and Departments struggle to access spaces needed for teaching, learning and examinations
Some graduate students do not have dedicated work spaces
The University does not have a single system for discovering and booking rooms across the estate S

10. 3. Work underway

11. 3. Work underway Across Schools and institutions
Significant work led by Schools, and across Faculties and Departments
For example, re-imagining research and teaching infrastructure across sites (Biological Sciences, Arts and Humanities/Humanities and Social Sciences)
Detailed research into users’ experiences of study environments (Futurelib at the UL) S

12. 4. The Programme Board for Education Space
Remit
Promote, and facilitate progress towards, the University’s vision for education space
Report progress to the General Board
Capture data to model academic needs with the management and development of the estate
Now oversees work of the Room Booking Project Board S

13. 4. The Programme Board for Education Space
Remit continued
Produce performance specifications for improving the quality of education space
Prepare improvement plans where appropriate
Develop guidance for using teaching space more efficiently
Develop compelling, user-focused systems to manage room-booking and scheduling across the University
Encourage a culture of sharing educational spaces S

14. 5. Next steps and further information
Academic year 2017/18
Develop a comprehensive understanding of education (numbers, aspirations, constraints) across all Schools
Design/test scheduling and modelling tool to match educational needs with available space
Produce/test a set of minimum standards for education space
Raise awareness, communicate, seek feedback across Schools (programme of administrator meetings set up) S

15. 5. Next steps and further information
Graham – click link at the end of the presentation to go through to the website