Value
The VIA solution is a hit with VU City Tower administrators, teaching staff and students.
With the VIA display on the screens in the collaboration-style rooms, students are able to get started on collaborative work with ease. Kieran explains: “They simply walk up, enter the IP address, enter the code, and away they go. It allows students to collaborate independently, and then cast that around the room as required.”
According to Kirsten Jeffery, Project Director, Victoria University City Tower, the response to the collaboration capabilities supported by the new campus has been overwhelmingly positive. “The students are loving the experience here in the building, just in terms of discovery of spaces and the enablement of their formal and informal learnings. They’re very, very grateful and very appreciative for the quality, and, I think, the fit-for-purpose customized spaces.”
She also notes, “It’s terrific that we are able to showcase that commitment to students, and providing them with a quality education, surrounded by customized contemporary purpose-built facilities.”
With hundreds of VIA devices installed across the campus, the VIA Site Management (VSM) platform has proved critical to the AV services team’s day to day work. Kieran explains: “We use it not only for the management side to see if things are on or off or in a different state. We also use it for digital signage. We can also enable applications or disable applications. So, we have that full management flexibility with that platform, and it’s critical to us.”
When asked about the experience of working with Kramer, Kieran is unequivocable. “The relationship with Kramer is a very long one. It’s before my time here at the university, and I’ve been here for 12 years. And they’ve been a big part of the university since the early 2000s. The lecture theaters are possibly 10, 15 years old, and these devices just keep running 24/7 without fail. They definitely stand the test of time.»
The next steps toward that future are already underway. With just under 600 VIA presentation devices now installed throughout VU, the university is planning to install additional VIA devices when it adds new collaboration-style rooms across the campuses later in the year.