Bath Spa University – Investing in Future-proof AV Technology
£1.9 million AV integration project transforming accessibility and learning experiences across 94 spaces
Project Overview
After securing a 5-year sole supplier agreement with Bath Spa University (BSU), Strive AV successfully completed a £1.9 million AV integration project over the summer of 2024.
With existing audio visual technology throughout the university's various campuses not having been replaced in its entirety for a decade, BSU required a complete analysis and update of the technology in place to keep pace with the wider technical environment.
Brief and Requirements
Bath Spa University identified that its existing audio visual learning and technology setup across the campuses had not been replaced in its entirety for 10 years. The hardware estate in teaching spaces and some meeting spaces across Newton Park, BSU London and Locksbrook was ageing at different rates and lacked uniformity, therefore requiring a holistic analysis and update to keep pace with the wider technical environment.
Bringing on-board a sole AV supplier would allow for a unified approach to the accessibility and sustainability of AV equipment across BSU's campuses, providing greater support for users with different needs. It was also important to consider how these technical upgrades would impact BSU's ongoing commitment to reduce carbon emissions.
Key Requirements
- •Complete technology refresh across 94 spaces
- •Assisted hearing solutions for seminar rooms and lecture theatres
- •Cyber Essentials Plus certified equipment
- •Scalable solutions for classrooms and lecture theatres
- •Integration without major infrastructure changes
The Solution
Sennheiser MobileConnect
Future-proof assistive hearing solution allowing users to connect via their personal smartphones, eliminating the need for traditional induction loops.
94 Spaces Upgraded
49 MobileConnect units and 100+ TeamConnect mic-arrays installed across seminar rooms and lecture theatres, providing robust and flexible solutions.
Cyber Essentials Certified
All products certified and adhering to Cyber Essentials Plus guidelines, with Strive AV holding Cyber Essentials and ISO27001 certifications.
Equipment Installed Across 94 Spaces
Project in Action
Project Outcomes
Enhanced Accessibility
- Students can connect via personal smartphones for personalised audio streaming
- Discreet, future-proof solution that promotes inclusivity
- Improved educational experience for all students
- Scalable to classrooms and lecture theatres of any fluid size
Ongoing Support
- Comprehensive training provided to BSU's in-house AV team
- Super-User training for key individuals
- Minimized incident response time
- Cost savings through in-house management capability
"Thanks to the work carried out by Strive AV, our seminar and lecture theatres have been drastically overhauled and updated to meet the demands of hybrid and in-person teaching. The addition of cameras and microphones into our spaces means that they are highly adaptable to suit the needs of both our academic and professional services staff; transitioning from meeting rooms to hybrid teaching spaces in seconds, rather than in a few hours."
What an estate-scale university AV refresh actually involves
Replacing AV across 94 teaching and meeting spaces sits in a different category to a single boardroom fit-out or a one-off lecture theatre. A programme of this size has to land inside semester windows, retire a decade of mixed-vendor hardware, and leave the in-house team able to support the result on day one of term.
Phasing inside semester windows
University refreshes have to fit between June and September, when teaching spaces are clear. That window covers strip-out, cable remediation, install, commissioning and staff familiarisation across dozens of rooms. Anything not signed off by week one of term blocks teaching, so room-level programming and contingency days are baked in from the outset.
Legacy mixed-vendor estates
A ten-year-old AV estate is rarely uniform. Rooms typically mix Crestron, Extron, Kramer and Atlona kit from successive capital projects, with documentation that no longer matches what is on the wall. The refresh has to audit each space and standardise on one control and signal platform so the in-house team is not maintaining four programming environments.
Accessibility as a design baseline
Hearing support, captioning and lecture capture are not optional extras. Sennheiser MobileConnect for assisted listening, Shure or Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling arrays for voice pickup, and integration with Panopto, Echo360 or Mediasite for capture all need designing in per room. Equality Act duties and procurement frameworks both push this up the priority list.
Handover to the in-house team
A 90-plus room refresh only pays back if the university's own AV team can run it. That means standardised room types, documented signal flows, programming sources held by the client, super-user training and a clear support escalation path. Good handover protects the OPEX side of the AV budget for years afterwards.
Strive's process for this kind of programme starts with a room-by-room audit and ends with documented handover to the client's in-house team. Phasing, accessibility specification, vendor consolidation and training are scoped before any kit is ordered, so the summer install window is spent fitting rooms rather than redesigning them.
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