INTRODUCTION
The University of Notre Dame is recognized as one of the nation’s leading institutions of higher learning, standing at the forefront in teaching, research and service to society. With over 12,000 students, the university attracts people from all over the world, offering undergraduate, professional, and graduate students a chance to pursue their academic endeavors in a unique scholarly community.
Notre Dame has revolutionized its approach to education by developing a catalog of AV core standards built on Crestron technology. Each core standard is specifically designed to transform spaces, such as conference rooms, classrooms, auditoriums, study spaces, seminar rooms, and offices. “Providing Notre Dame with a premier user experience has always been a priority for my team,” explains Jason Railton, Manager of ND Studios AV Technologies at Notre Dame. “Standardizing on Crestron allowed us to empower our faculty and students to utilize technologies both on campus and abroad."
THE CHALLENGE
The Campus Crossroads Project was the largest building initiative in the history of the university, featuring over 800,000 square feet of classroom, research, student life, media, performance, meeting, event, and hospitality space. The project’s three state-of-the-art buildings overlook Notre Dame Stadium and feature academic spaces, libraries, and lounge areas for receptions. With a history of successfully deploying intuitive technologies across campus, Jason and his team were asked to integrate their AV core standards for all three buildings. “Our task was to create revolutionary new spaces and help bring the university’s vision to life,” explains Railton.
THE SOLUTION
Crestron control is used throughout the Campus Crossroads Project, providing anyone who enters infinite control at all times. With Crestron touch screens and Notre Dame’s easy-to-use interface, users can easily and quickly customize the space. Crestron DigitalMedia™ is used inside classrooms, teaching labs, conference rooms, and tutoring areas to distribute content for a more immersive learning experience. In addition, each building features unique spaces for students, faculty, and guests to network, celebrate, and host events on campus.
The Office of Information Technologies have been transforming traditional classrooms into active learning spaces, completely changing the way students and faculty interact within the classroom. Crestron DM NVX™ serves as the backbone for these intuitive learning environments and enable students and faculty to share content collaboratively.
To outfit new conference rooms, the university has adopted the Crestron Flex platform as part of their AV core standards. “We needed a solution that was simple, intuitive, and could natively integrate with our existing video conferencing platform,” explains Railton. “Crestron Flex provides us a consistent user experience, exceptional audio, and image quality."
RESULTS
Since the opening of the Campus Crossroads Project, Jason and his team have redesigned over 175 classrooms across campus with Crestron technology utilizing the same core standards. “Crestron has helped us provide a consistent and seamless user experience across all of our campuses worldwide,” says Railton. “As we work on expanding our core standards across campus, Crestron will continue to serve as Notre Dame’s technology backbone.”
