Innovative spaces and pedagogies for enhanced teaching and learning
The rise in tuition fees over recent years has made delivering value to students increasingly important, placing renewed spotlight on the quality of teaching and learning spaces within higher education. A recent forum event, hosted by FaulknerBrowns Architects, explored how innovative teaching and learning spaces could support radical new pedagogies.
AUDE updates its toolkit for sustainable estates
An updated version of the Model of Estates Costs has been published by AUDE, which feeds into its toolkit providing guidance for a sustainable estate. The toolkit, which is backed by a number of higher education funders, was put together to improve the tools available to institutions for the management of space in the sector.
Balancing the heart and the head: maintaining UEA’s iconic buildings
The University of East Anglia is taking a low-cost approach to its efficiency and effectiveness programme, which is being delivered by a small team. Ian Powling meets four members of this team to discover their progress in realising the programme
Do you speak laboratory?
The S-Lab: Supporting World Class Science programme aims to improve laboratory efficiency and effectiveness in all dimensions, including scientific value, resource efficiency and staff well-being. S-Lab director Peter James discusses the crucial role of estates and facilities in supporting these objectives.
Survey shows facilities a key factor in students’ choice of university
Research released by AUDE shows that facilities are key for two thirds of UK students when choosing university, with the library being cited as the most used university facility. Some 85% of the 2,000 surveyed say they are learning, socialising and living in clean and well maintained university buildings.
Summer on the campus
University campuses are no longer deserted during July and August. Rosie Niven looks at how estates managers are making their assets pay for themselves during the long summer holiday.
Building maintenance identified as candidate for HEFCE funding
There is a clear role for HEFCE capital funding in supporting building maintenance, a report by the funding body for England suggests. The report reviewing HEFCE capital expenditure identifies maintenance as a suitable candidate for funding with history showing substantial expenditure being required to redress historic underinvestment in Higher Education maintenance in the early 2000s.
School’s in for summer: working university assets hard between semesters
As universities gear up for the summer, University Business's Tallulah Speed looks at how institutions are putting their assets to good use during the downtime by hosting conferences, gala dinners and even weddings.
Championing change in Sunderland’s new science complex
When the University of Sunderland refurbished its science complex, the ambitions for the project was to transform the faculty’s culture. The university’s head of estates, Iain Garfield, explains how engaging “change champions” was key to the project’s success.
How to build sustainability resilience into university business
A guide to building economic, social and environmental sustainability into all university operations has been launched by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges. The aim of the guide is to demonstrate the business benefits for universities in making sustainability resilience, innovation and opportunity a top table issue.
