University of Sussex and University of Brighton:
InQbate: the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Creativity
| Contact Details: | Tom Hamilton, Sussex University, t.hamilton@sussex.ac.uk Richard Morris, Brighton University http://www.inqbate.co.uk/ |
| Type of Project: | Refurbishment project: a total of £3.75 million, structured as initial capital funding, then recurrent funding over 5 years, to develop innovative teaching and learning in creativity within both student populations, and to then disseminate those findings out to the wider HE community. The reason it was a refurbishment is because it was stipulated in the funding programme. There are two sites: one at the University of Sussex and another equivalent site at the University of Brighton. This is a joint initiative with Sussex as the lead. Although the overall design aims are aligned, each has taken a slightly different approach in their interpretation. |
| Start/End Date: | The project money was awarded in March 2005 University of Sussex: April 2006 - March 2007 The first year was primarily focussed on design. Actual building commenced in April 2006 and will be concluded in March 2007. University of Brighton: July 2005 - March 2007 Work was able to start almost immediately in July 2005 as the HEFCE funding was combined with existing internal funding to enlarge the project scope. Work is also due to be completed in March 2007. |
Success Factors
What Makes The Space Successful?
Again this is difficult to say at this point in the project but I think what will make it successful is that it will challenge the expectations and assumptions learners may have about learning spaces and open them up to new experiences - the aesthetic of the Creativity Zone is unlike any other teaching space in the University.
Another important aspect will be that flexibility and support are embedded throughout. Providing technology facilitators, learning facilitators and creative facilitation as part of the service means that we can hand-hold tutors through what is quite a challenging process - as they reflect on their current teaching practice and explore both technology and space in order to look at alternative ways of achieving their learning objectives.
The final element that will set us apart from other teaching and learning spaces will be how we are using AV technologies. Not only are we using more AV resources than most current teaching spaces have access to, but we have also tried to be innovative in how we use them - learning from the arts and theatre sector to not just provide information but to present information in an engaging manner, actively creating immersive spaces, generating experiences that engage people, excite them and draw people in to the learning.
We hope to be able to use the technology and team to engage tutors and learners in exploration and active learning, and then support them in their learning journey.
What Is Innovative About The Design And The Use Of The Space?
What's most innovative is the flexibility. Lots of people have been talking about flexible spaces for a while now, and there is an increasing trend towards flexible furniture and social furniture design. However, we've tried to take it one stage further by making sure that all furniture within the space can be stowed out of visual sight and all technology can be hidden.
The attention to the visual aesthetic and the psychological clutter is also quite unusual. Although it has been designed as a very blank neutral space to enable it to take on different feels through differing lighting and projection, it has an open, contemporary feel that out of the 'institutional' norm for HE teaching spaces.
The flexible partitions and furniture, combined with rich AV resources on a neutral colour scheme means that it can change from a visually and physically blank space to a full space and back very quickly.
I know that several institutions are using slide seating in auditoriums that pulls to the sides, freeing up the space for other uses, but even when stowed like this, it actually still has a very dominating physical presence which changes the feel of the room. I think what we've done is try to ensure that the room would maintain a good strong visual aesthetic in all the various activities that we could envisage.
Another innovative element is the control software. We have developed this in-house from scratch and have designed it to be accessible to all users of the space, generating a sense of agency, autonomy and ownership.
Having 16 simultaneous video channels within a medium sized teaching environment will enable us to create quite an impact and generate immersive projected panoramas and environments.
One final thought, although this is less innovative and more a question of good practice, is the provision of dedicated developmental educational and technological support - it's no good supplying tutors with technology if you don't supply them with the support to use it effectively.
