Learning Resources

Abstract: Ensuring that COVID-accelerated changes align with the institutional mission and brand is essential to a successful future on your campus. This session will explore the evolution of Harvard Business School's space and technology planning process through two completed distance learning projects—one envisioned before COVID and one created after. We'll provide insights from our planning and design toolbox, which will help you assess, plan, implement, and solve physical and digital challenges at your institution.

Abstract: Isttaniokaksini—the Blackfoot name bestowed on the new Science Commons for transdisciplinary science at the University of Lethbridge—means deep knowledge and awareness growing out of the unknown. The new 32,600 SM collaborative science facility is sited in the iconic coulee landscape adjacent to University Hall, one of noted Canadian architect Arthur Erickson’s most iconic works. The architecture of Isttaniokaksini / Science Commons realizes the vision to create the most advanced science building in Canada and an incubator for transdisciplinary discovery. Planned for many generations into the future, the design creates a highly sustainable, flexible, and supportive platform for discovering solutions to the challenges facing humanity, nature, and the universe.

Abstract: As the chief academic officer of the University of Massachusetts system and as a labor market sociologist, Katherine Newman will provide valuable insight on how global changes are affecting the academic, research, and public service mission of higher education. The current public health crisis—as well as other factors such as automation and social change—is accelerating efforts to attract, educate, and retain a range of high achieving, diverse, and unskilled populations of learners. Come learn how your institution can provide experiential learning and hybrid course delivery options that meet the needs of students and employers who are experiencing multiple tectonic shifts in their industries.

Abstract: How did Villanova University and their project partners leverage the collaboration inherent in all capital projects to strengthen the design of an important new campus development along a bustling regional thoroughfare? Through planning, patience, and perseverance during a decade-long process that actively engaged university leadership, community members, and state and municipal authorities. Come learn how the project team turned challenges into opportunities by incorporating different perspectives to develop new and better solutions—especially during the rigorous approvals process—all while retaining a strong sense of character and place in the design response.

Abstract: Multiple entities within institutions often have competing values, but virtual reality (VR) simulation can help overcome this challenge by creating an accessible platform for building a collective vision. We will demonstrate how we incorporated VR into stakeholder engagement for the University of Virginia's Student Health and Wellness Center to address health outcomes, promote student learning, and collaborate with interdisciplinary partners across campus. Encouraging stakeholders to virtually test a space's impact on health and learning will help you to advance decision-making, leverage diverse expertise, and capture empathy-driven insight to create a more efficient and intelligent design process at your institution.

Abstract: A collaborative approach allows building projects to open faster, reduces redesign, increases staff satisfaction, and produces a higher utilization rate than the traditional design process. This session details the collaborative Lean process involving over 100 people that allowed the Lauritzen Outpatient Center on the Nebraska Medical Campus to be completed 1.5 years early with few design changes. Come learn from our unique approach in which actual users participate in designing the facility, allowing implementation of new processes and efficiencies known only to medical center staff.