Higher education establishments are catering to vast numbers of students and staff in diverse academic departments located in numerous buildings. As Newcastle University discovered, communicating with students, linking campuses and unifying the student population can be achieved through digital signage networks enabling instant news updates and notifications.
A member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive UK universities, Newcastle was named one of the top civic universities in the country in the University League Table. Newcastle offers world-class education in one of the most exciting cities in the UK, attracting 23,000 students from across the globe. With its main city center campus spanning 50 acres, student outreach requires an efficient means of communication.
A bid to improve cross-campus communication led to a proposal to upgrade the University Campus Messaging System. Its goals: to enlighten staff, students and visitors and enhance their university experiences.
“Our aim was to provide a visible, high-quality, resilient and energy-efficient digital signage system in high-traffic student areas across campus,” says Lee Harrison, Senior Audio Visual Technician at Newcastle University IT Services (NUIT).
“Initially, we researched and evaluated various products from different manufacturers that could provide complete software and hardware solutions,” Harrison says. “It quickly became apparent, however, that our needs, in terms of a software platform, would be best met by developing an in-house content delivery process based upon the WordPress platform. Once this decision had been made, our requirements concentrated on the hardware needed to support this system.
“Our requirements were very specific in terms of image quality, connectivity (including Open Pluggable Specification option slots, outputs and control), operational functionality, reliability, power consumption and support. The screens needed to operate 24/7 in either portrait or landscape mode. Following a procurement exercise, 56 NEC Display Solutions digital screens and Single Board Computers (SBCs) were selected.”
NEC’s P Series displays deliver 24/7 performance, LED backlight technology, high brightness (700cd/m²) with low reflection, and consume minimal power, Harrison said. The unique built-in NFC (Near Field Communication) sensor, in combination with NEC’s Android app, significantly reduces installation and maintenance costs, Harrison said.
NUIT Services worked closely with the appointed AV contractor, Roche Audio Visual, who, in collaboration with NEC, effectively managed the installation of the AV infrastructure, system configuration and display hardware.
“The screens had to be bright, high quality, durable and energy efficient,” Harrison says. “We ultimately purchased a combination of 46-inch and 55-inch displays to be driven by NEC OPS ‘slot-in’ PCs embedded within each unit.
“Another key requirement within our technical specification was remote management to enable us to control, configure and monitor the screens,” Harrison says. “We find NEC’s NaViSet administrative software a very useful tool, and have set up tasks to switch systems on and off daily, and send global commands to all screens when needed. We also monitor system status using NaViSet and re-send commands remotely where appropriate. NaViSet offered us all that we required and a lot more than we had originally requested.”
Achieving a sustainable solution was also high on NUIT’s list of demands, and the digital screens delivered with a decrease in overall energy consumption.
All of the installed screens are used for digital signage across campus and in student accommodation areas. Two systems in a hospitality venue also accommodate external device inputs to allow them to be used for presentations during events and meetings. During university open houses, the content is tailored on all screens to promote the various activities taking place.
Most central, content is managed within the university’s Corporate Affairs Directorate with other specific content delivered via local administrators. Academic departments also can submit content to be featured in central channels. The displays have a number of configurable zones, including news and Twitter feeds, and the system can be overridden for emergency messaging.
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