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The inaugural Next Generation Learning Spaces Colloquium was a resounding success and included leaders in higher education responsible for teaching and learning matters, architects, technology service managers, senior librarians and facilities managers. 

 

The Colloquium was a journey of discovery through a range of state-of-the-art learning spaces with the aim to envisage the future shape of learning facilities in higher education. Participants experienced the $4m Collaborative Teaching and Learning Centre (CTLC), the recently refurbished Biological Sciences library and the award winning Mayne Centre, and shared in the ideas behind the ‘lecture theatre of the future’: UQ’s Advanced Concept Teaching Space.

 

The Colloquium featured addresses by Professor Philip Long, the Senior Strategist for the Academy of Computing and Director of Learning Outreach for iCampus (MIT); Dr Kenn Fisher, Director of Learning Futures, Rubida Research; Dr Peter Jamieson, University of Melbourne; and Keith Webster, University of Queensland Librarian. Presentations on MIT Teal and the University of Melbourne's Learning Lab highlighted the importance of Pedagogy, Space and Technology from a sector perspective. Participants in the Colloquium represented 40 universities in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the United States of America, and three architectural firms.

The Colloquium dinner at Customs House continued the theme of award winning spaces and provided a unique opportunity for networking. A post Colloquium visit to the second generation Collaborative Learning Centre at the Gatton campus along with a visit to the Ipswich library was a highlight for many of the participants, and focussed on lessons learnt from UQ’s first CTLC and their incorporation into the second generation facility.