BACKGROUND
Situated in the heart of England, the University of Northampton is a higher education establishment delivering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in wide range of subjects, with specialist fields including Management, Technology and Fashion.
The university prides itself on sustainability and aims to be the top university in the UK for social enterprise by 2015, with a holistic strategy based on distinctive forward thinking and social responsibility.
As part of its growth plan, the university is undergoing a dramatic and extensive programme of redevelopment, including an extension to Cottesbrooke, the University's Business School, and a development of Sulgrave & Rockingham, the University's School of Education.
As Top Ranked Supplier within the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC), Snelling Business Systems were approached and appointed to deliver the audio visual installation and management for both the Cottesbrooke and Sulgrave & Rockingham projects.
AIMS OF THE PROJECT
The key to delivering the exact requirements outlined by the university was to fully appreciate the needs of the end users. As such, Snelling Business Systems took time to meet with management and staff to incorporate their requirements into the proposal.
With their extensive knowledge and experience of other higher education AV projects nationwide, Snelling Business Systems were also able to advise on technologies being adopted by other universities.
Throughout their tender, Snelling Business Systems also recommended uniformity of technology, to ensure consistency, and thus, operational simplicity for the end users.
COTTESBROOKE BUSINESS SCHOOL
The Business School has benefitted from a full audio visual installation in their boardroom, 4 lecture rooms, a flexible new teaching space and 3 breakout rooms.
The Boardroom was fitted with a 55" slim bezel full HD LCD screen, fully integrated audio system and a dedicated lectern housing networked touch panel control system, presentation switcher/scaler, analogue and digital inputs, and PC.
Each of the four lecture rooms were equipped with Smart interactive boards, short throw projection equipment and fully integrated audio systems. To increase flexibility of space, two of the rooms can also be joined to create a larger single teaching space and one of the lecture rooms has a relay projection screen, which was installed due to sight lines. As with the Boardroom, each of the lecture rooms benefits from a dedicated lectern housing networked touch panel control systems, presentation switcher/scalers, analogue and digital inputs, visualiser and PC.
The new flexible teaching space was installed with a 55" slim bezel full HD LCD screen, integrated loudspeakers and bespoke wall mounted 4m wide LED ticker tape to display up-to-the-minute financial statistics, such as RSS stocks and shares.
To meet the requirements outlined in the brief, the three breakout rooms were fitted with commercial LCD displays, loudspeakers, networked push button controls and digital and analogue inputs.
To complete the overall installation, Cottesbrooke was also fitted with a number of Panasonic full HD flat panel signage displays with audio, dedicated OneLan signage servers per screen and a TV distribution system.
SULGRAVE & ROCKINGHAM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Part of the £3.8 million pound investment into the university's School of Education was the audio visual installation for 13 lecture rooms and a breakout room, as well as digital signage throughout.
In order to deliver the university's requirements, Snelling Business Systems fitted each of the 13 lecture rooms with Smart widescreen interactive boards, short throw projectors and fully integrated audio systems by QSC.
In addition, each of the lecture rooms have benefited from a dedicated lectern housing networked touch panel control systems, BluRay players, presentation switchers/scalers, analogue and digital inputs, visualisers and PC's.
The breakout room has been installed with a Panasonic commercial LCD display, loudspeakers, networked push button control, digital and analogue inputs and to meet the requirements for integrated digital signage, the building has been fitted with a number of Panasonic full HD flat panel signage displays, each with audio, dedicated signage servers per screen and a OneLan digital signage management server.
SUMMARY
Snelling Business Systems took a partnership approach to their proposal and work with Northampton University, reflecting the university's own strategy to work with "local authorities, businesses and the wider community, to deliver improvements to Northamptonshire".
In delivering the requirements for both the Cottesbrooke and Sulgrave & Rockingham projects, Snelling Business Systems took into account the university's overall objectives and strategy, to deliver an all-encompassing AV solution which reflected consistency and operational simplicity for its end users, rather than a per-project outcome.
The new systems are already in use at the University of Northampton and Snelling Business Systems are continuing to partner with the University, arranging technology events and delivering site for presentations to staff, researchers and students alike, to ensure that they remain at the forefront of technology.