Last week, the Yarooms team attended the Times Higher Education Digital Universities 2024 event in Exeter, United Kingdom. The event was a hotbed for insightful discussions, focusing on digitization in higher education, which encompasses a wide array of aspects, from enhancing learning flexibility to optimizing campus space.

Given our focus on campus management, we were particularly drawn to the discussions concerning spaces and have gathered some insights to share. We've categorized them into four main themes—let's call them the four C's—which highlight the essential needs of faculty and students:

• Certainty: It's essential to ensure student or staff access to necessary tools, spaces, and resources when needed on campus.
• Concentration: Libraries are crucial in universities because they provide a quiet place for students and faculty, especially those in shared housing, to study and work effectively.
• Collaboration: Universities encourage students to collaborate more to build real-world conflict resolution skills, emphasizing the importance of spaces for teamwork.
• Capacity: Space is precious for universities in city centers where expansion is challenging, highlighting the need for flexible work areas and data on how spaces are used to optimize existing buildings.

The drive to transform universities into smart and carbon-neutral campuses was clearly evident at the event. Many larger institutions have created specific roles to focus on digitization and sustainability, using technology to enhance the experience for both faculty and students. Another key trend we observed was in resource booking—while most organizations have implemented some basic solutions, there is significant room for improvement. This is where Yarooms steps in. We're ready to support educational institutions by providing advanced space and resource booking tools, workplace analytics, and technologies that enhance sustainability efforts. Here's all about how we do it. 

"Attending Digital Universities UK 2024 was a remarkable experience. It was inspiring to see the innovative strides being made in campus digitization, and it also offered us valuable networking opportunities. We're excited to bring back a wealth of ideas on how to better serve educational institutions through our technology," says Jenifer Rhodus, Director of Sales at Yarooms.

Until the next time!