Tag Archives: Infrastructure

E-Learning, News

The University of Cape Town Selects D2L To Enhance and Future Proof Its Digital Learning Infrastructure

Following staff and student feedback, D2L Brightspace was selected to support the University’s ambition for digital innovation and equitable student success

LONDON, UK – 8th June, 2022 – D2L, a global learning technology company transforming the way the world learns, today announced that the University of Cape Town (UCT) has partnered with reseller Visions Consulting to implement D2L Brightspace and enhance its digital learning infrastructure, in order to meet the needs of UCT’s teaching and learning community for the next decade.

UCT is South Africa’s oldest university. A leader in teaching and research, UCT is home to six academic faculties – Commerce, Engineering and the Built Environment, Law, Health Sciences, Humanities and Science – with a university community of 29,000 students and 5,000 academic and administrative staff. UCT has a proud tradition of academic excellence and is one of the top-rated universities in the world.

UCT has had a learning management system (LMS) in place since 2006, which has served its needs well in the past. However, UCT has evaluated its future requirements, which included increased provision of digital learning functionality across the continuum of in-person teaching to blended learning, higher demand for fully online courses, long term sustainability and the need for a single solution to replace multiple platforms.

The Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) is a unit within UCT’s Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED), that serves UCT’s academic and student learning and teaching needs, and in 2021, it launched a project to select a new digital learning platform to support the university’s teaching goals for the next 5 to 10 years.

“As part of our long-term strategy within Vision 2030 – we are working towards the university’s massive transformative purpose which includes holistic, innovative future-oriented education,” said Sukaina Walji, director of the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching at the University of Cape Town. “Our goal is to unleash the creative energy and intellectual capacity of UCT, and critical to this is ensuring equitable student success. As digital tools and technologies play a significant role in all faculties and departments, and at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, we sought a new, cloud-hosted LMS.”

CILT initiated a competitive tender process between June and December 2021. Staff and students provided input through surveys and focus groups. Faculty, student, and other stakeholder representatives also participated in a formal procurement process, defining their requirements, and evaluating bids from all major market players. When D2L Brightspace was selected, campus stakeholders were invited to a Q&A session and webinar to introduce the new platform and to register their interest in early trials.

“D2L Brightspace provides strong support for the priorities our stakeholders identified, and its selection is a major milestone in enhancing our digital infrastructure,” continued Walji. “Brightspace is intuitive, supports a wide range of teaching modes, provides strong communication and assessment features, a robust mobile app, enhanced learning analytics, excellent integration with MS Teams and comprehensive accessibility support for UCT students with disabilities. Importantly, the platform provides a competitive set of features right now, while also having the flexibility to adapt to our future needs in response to the changing higher education and technology landscape.”

“This is a great partnership for D2L, as we have a longstanding commitment to transform the way the world learns, and UCT’s own strategic roadmap is firmly rooted in meeting the needs of a new generation of diverse students and academics,” said Stewart Watts, VP EMEA, D2L. “We are excited to work closely with UCT as it aspires to become a premier academic meeting point between South Africa, the rest of Africa and the world. Our technology will underpin UCT’s Vision 2030 strategy, enhancing learning and teaching across the continuum of in-person, blended and online modes for its community.”

5G, News

Wireless Infrastructure Group deploys major neutral host infrastructure project across Birmingham anchored by Three’s 5G network

17 May 2022 – Wireless Infrastructure Group (WIG) today announces the launch of a significant new infrastructure project set to transform mobile connectivity across Birmingham. WIG has deployed its own fibre backbone across the city and partnered with Birmingham City Council to connect up tens of thousands of streetscape assets for mobile infrastructure.

WIG’s neutral host network infrastructure can support all mobile networks and has been anchored by Three UK running 5G services and creating the UK’s first large-scale 5G centralised radio access network (C-RAN) to enable super-fast speeds for all Three’s customers.

WIG’s network will also play a key role in supporting the vital testing of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) on Birmingham’s streets. WIG has developed this complex project in its role as lead communications infrastructure partner to Midlands Future Mobility – the organisation responsible for the UK’s largest real world test bed for CAVs.

WIG’s CEO Scott Coates commented:

‘We are delighted to have made this investment into Birmingham and to help the mobile operators as they seek to connect their customers with 5G in the busiest parts of the city.’

‘Our infrastructure has been developed to enable fast cycle times for any mobile operator looking to address capacity needs across the UK’s largest and most populated metropolitan borough. Our plug and play approach will remove much of the complexity normally experienced by mobile operators when deploying in urban centres’

Three UK’s Chief Network Officer Carlo Melis commented:

‘We are excited by this project which is supporting the development of the UK’s fastest 5G network in Birmingham, ahead of the Commonwealth Games.’

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

  • Birmingham-wide 5G C-RAN network utilising WIG-owned fibre back-bone enabling ultra-low latency capability with fibre fronthaul.
  • Contiguous high speed and high capacity 4G and 5G services from Birmingham International Airport through to the city centre.
  • Future-proof, multi-operator, multi-technology architecture that will support 5G in standalone and non-standalone modes.
  • Long-term agreement for WIG and its customers to utilise tens of thousands of assets owned by Birmingham City Council.
  • Deployment of long-term sustainable infrastructure solutions, supporting small cells and making use of existing street furniture.
  • Three UK customers already benefitting from 4G and 5G delivered by the infrastructure with service throughput in excess 1Gb/s. Three’s initial deployment area includes city centre capacity hot spots together with contiguous high speed and high-capacity services across 20kms of the busiest parts of the Midlands Future Mobility testbed route.

More information at https://www.wirelessinfrastructure.co.uk/case-studies/west-midlands-5G-CRa

News

Pegasus Group economics director joins Institute of Economic Development Board

“The more people we can get together from economic development – public and private sector – to help to lead the economic development agenda and influence decision-making, the better it will be for everyone.” This is the view of Richard Cook, Director – Economics, at Pegasus Group who has been appointed to the Board of the Institute of Economic Development (IED).

Richard, entering his 19th year in economic development and his sixth as an IED member, explained that he was motivated to help the sector evolve and thrive. “Economic development is an area I find extremely interesting but it is also one that is hard to define,” he said. “Whether it is Levelling Up, town centres/high streets, the role of LEPs going forward, devolution or planning, economic development is all around us. My ambition is for us to represent an even wider range of public and private sector organisations that help shape the direction of the IED and government agenda on economic development. This means influencing Levelling Up or any other flagship policies that are announced in the next few years and the agenda for the new local and sub-regional government structure.”

Richard outlined his view that the IED is “a serious thought leader for the area of economic development” and there is an opportunity to increase the breadth and depth of insight available to decision makers. “As a Board we need to ensure that the IED provides an evidence base to inform economic development decisions,” he revealed. “My expertise is in undertaking economic impact assessments and socio-economic analysis, and, whilst I am based in Manchester, I work all over the country so can contribute to that evidence base. We should also be thinking about intelligence that developers need, including issues such as how the housing offer can meet the needs of an older population.”

Pegasus Group is an independent consultancy specialising in planning, design, environment, economics, transport, infrastructure and heritage. The economics arm of the business helps organisations make the case for development, including residential, extra care and student accommodation schemes, and commercial development, and Richard told how the IED has supported him professionally. “The IED is the main national voice for economic development and it is important that we are members,” he said. “It is known, even by non-members, and carries a level of authority and respect. From a personal perspective, being part of the IED has been crucial for connecting with economic development professionals, public and private sector, including traditionally at the annual conference. It also brings people together effectively through online events and CPD programmes.”

Having previously worked at DTZ Investors as well as New Economy Manchester, now part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, before joining Pegasus Group in 2016, Richard is an advocate of the role of public-private sector collaboration. “Private sector consultancies offer a level of independence to the economic development sphere and there is a lot they can bring to the table in terms of analysis and evidence-informed advice,” he said. “Yes, they have to follow their clients’ directive, but it is healthy for private sector consultancies to provide a level of critique to public sector organisations (on local plan consultations, for example), and also vice-versa.”

IED Executive Director Nigel Wilcock said: “Our vision is be the leading professional body for economic development professionals, helping them to create stronger communities and sustainable economies across the UK. Within that our core purpose is to support, develop and connect our members, represent and champion the profession, and influence and inform policy. This is a crucial time for economic development across the four nations and we want to draw on the knowledge, expertise and ideas from within our membership, public and private sector, to support our mission. We are therefore delighted to welcome Richard to our Board of Directors.”

News

Supercharging EV revolution to help achieve ambitious goals (Authored by Mr. Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Media)

In the ongoing process to revolutionise the large-scale adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), the government of the United Kingdom has been continuously taking measures that are highly likely to expedite the transformation, supplementing the ultimate objective of achieving the definitive target of net zero by 2050.

While purchasing a new vehicle, people are increasingly shifting towards EVs as their choice for a primary vehicle due to wide-range of benefits including cost savings and higher efficiency. Such decisions are collectively helping the nation to reduce the carbon footprint, as far as the proportion of carbon emissions associated with passenger vehicles are concerned.

As the masses shift their focus to EVs, hybrid vehicles and other low-emission vehicles, the government has been keenly working to ease the owning experience for the consumers. This includes the capabilities of rechargeable batteries that can provide a hassle-free run on longer routes, availability of charge points across the country, semi-urbanised locaties and remote locations, and readily-accessible service stations in case of a breakdown.

The Downing Street administration approach to revolutionise the EV uptake has been exemplary among the leading economies as the government periodically rewards a number of innovative companies and enterprises that have managed to achieve state-of-the-art breakthroughs in the technologies supporting the production of EVs and key components.

In the upcoming years, hundreds of thousands of extra charge points are set to be inducted across the widespread geography of the UK. Higher the number of recharging stations productively decreases the dependability on a handful of charge points, ultimately resulting in large runs and increased adaptability of EVs in the forthcoming years.

The government is ready with new laws to supercharge the EV revolution under which world-leading regulations will be instituted for new homes and buildings in England.

From 2022 onwards, all the new homes, residential buildings, commercial setups, workplaces and supermarkets will be obligated to install EV charge points under the new legislation drafted by the government. Alongside this, the buildings undergoing major renovations will also be required to set up EV charge points.

The move is expected to increase the presence of charge points, while paving the way for fresh employment opportunities in the green energy sector with thousands of EV charge points easing the owning experience of an EV.

According to the initial estimates, as many as 145,000 extra charge points will be installed in England following the new mandate of setting up a charge point at aforementioned facilities. Having an adequate number of charge points has been one of the major challenges as countries gear up for the mass adoption of EVs.

The government of the UK has been gradually levelling up the charging infrastructure, alongside assisting the new-age technology enterprises that can help make new EVs more efficient and easy-to-own. This could be one of the biggest opportunities to level up the UK economy with the government and businesses collaborating on various initiatives to improve the comprehensive outcome.

This will further help in achieving the predefined short-term objectives of terminating the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 and hybrid by 2035. So far, the government has already supported 250,000 charge points in various localities including homes and workplaces.

Following the mass induction of charge points at new residential properties, the consumers would be able to select the best residential units that are equipped with a charge point as majority of charging happens at home. This can potentially alleviate the worries of visiting a refuelling station or taking the vehicle to an urbanised locality with an abundant number of charge points. People can also make sure of the availability of charge points in the nearby shopping complexes and workplaces before choosing the residential space and new employment opportunity.

All the properties that are undergoing major renovation and improvements with more than 10 parking spaces will be mandatorily required to install EV charge points, the decision that can provide a direction to the building owners looking forward to revamping the residential, as well as non-residential spaces in the upcoming years.

Along with bolstering the recharging infrastructure in the country, the government has also decided to simplify the payments at charge points to further encourage the people as they plan to buy their next vehicle. All the commercial charge points will be required to offer contactless payments for the users to make the process more efficient, while modernising the charge points.

With the collective approach of the government and a number of commercial setups to strengthen the charging infrastructure in the UK, the country can surely meet the upcoming objectives that can lead to the possibility of reaching a net zero status by 2050. The large-scale production of clean power and country-wide adoption of EVs, alongside the commitments by businesses to turn carbon neutral in the upcoming years are the most pivotal steps that can downsize the carbon emissions in the country.