From blank canvas to cutting-edge campus in one year

Teesside University’s London campus has an ambitious goal to deliver engaging experiences in a reliable and cost-effective way. The result is an innovative approach to integrating cutting-edge technology solutions into the campus. 

The campus was built in just one year. “We started with quite literally a blank canvas,” said Andrew Gill, deputy director of IT and Digital Services at Teesside University. “The blank canvas spans the physical space but also the way we wanted to deliver teaching and learning at the campus.”

Speaking at a panel held in partnership with CirrusHQ during the 2024 THE Digital Universities UK event, Gill explained the demand for flexible delivery and access. “Students use a lot of their own devices,” he said. “They need a lot of permissions on those devices, and they want the choice and flexibility to be able to work where they want on campus and still access the specialist facilities that they need.” 

Students using their own devices was critical when designing Teesside’s London campus, Gill explained. “It completely changes the way they interact with the campus,” he said. The Middlesbrough campus’ Teesside University Advance scheme can provide students with an iPad upon arrival, which Gill said is “a real enabler”. 

Building on this, the London campus offers more choice with a voucher for students to put towards technology purchases. Whatever students choose, computing power is no longer a barrier to access thanks to the use of Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Amazon AppStream, a fully managed application streaming service that provides users with instant access to their desktop applications from anywhere.

Ben Mowbray, end user computing sales lead for the UK public sector at AWS, said that through Amazon AppStream everyone can learn in the same way. “It enables all students, whether they’ve got a Chromebook or a MacBook Pro. They all get the same level of equity. They get the same ubiquitous experiences,” he said. 

Teesside University calls this access to specialist hardware and software Cloud Labs. This award-winning system is constantly being tweaked to hit the balance between cost efficiency and delivery. Block-based teaching was chosen as the sustainable and scalable solution for the campus, also allowing a shortened feedback cycle. “We’re continually taking the feedback from students in each block and reintegrating it into what we need to do differently, making sure the environments are fit for purpose,” Gill said.

Cloud Labs was developed alongside building Teesside’s London campus, Gill said. The commitment to open a campus in 12 months required flexibility, quick decision-making and unlocking the campus workstream. By design, Cloud Labs offered a safety net against the physical campus falling behind. “Having the labs ready and making sure there are teaching environments available in the Cloud as the campus facilities continued to develop was a good derisk on the overall programme,” Gill said. 

Other benefits included reducing the campus’ carbon impact by giving the students the choice to buy the devices they want, rather than a standard purchase they might not use. From expanding mobile data allowances to buying headphones, the voucher system allows students to get exactly what they need. 

Stephen Croke, chief revenue officer at CirrusHQ, which is an AWS partner, explained the benefits of incorporating this service into campus design. “The cost of modelling how the Amazon AppStream solution works, coupled with the fact that you can try this out and test in your own environment, it’s almost zero risk,” Croke said.

The panel:

• Stephen Croke, chief revenue officer, CirrusHQ
• Andrew Gill, deputy director of IT and Digital Services, Teesside University
• Ben Mowbray, end user computing sales and GTM lead, UK Public Sector, AWS

Find out more about CirrusHQ.