This month, the University of Bristol, University of Surrey and King’s College London debuted the world’s first end-to-end 5G network at Mobile World Congress, the mobile industry’s biggest annual show. According to their press release:
This technology will allow experts – from skilled surgeons to professional musicians – to share in real-time their physical expertise with a global audience. Surgeons will be able to physically guide medical students on other continents. Musicians will be able to transmit their ‘muscle memory’ wirelessly to exoskeletons worn by beginners – demonstrating the movements required to perform the most complex compositions, without needing to be in the same room.
These are exciting times, and it’s great to see UK universities at the forefront of technology breakthroughs. Of course, universities are not just the birthplaces of great new technologies, they are also a place where technology is used abundantly on an everyday level to enhance students’ lives. Within universities, students are enormous consumers of technology, embracing the latest gadgets and gizmos. As universities are under pressure to provide value for money for students to justify rising fees, the wider experience and facilities on offer are part of this and need to meet high expectations.
Some of the technologies being implemented are making headlines, and some are just making students’ lives easier. Augmented and virtual reality are being used to bring curricula to life. Augmented reality technology lets students operate a chemical plant from the classroom, while other universities have used Artificial Intelligence to offer 24/7 online student advisory services to improve the student experience.
My personal interest is in giving students a more convenient, and healthier, experience at mealtimes. Busy students grabbing food or a drink between lectures or lab sessions shouldn’t need to resort to vending machines or chips for a quick bite. Universities around the world are already exploring ways to speed up the canteen experience and make it more convenient and appealing for students.
In China, a canteen in the Zhejiang Province has become popular for offering high-tech dining experiences. Teachers and students at the university register their personal information, mobile number and a campus card for payment. Their face is then scanned in the canteen and a diner is paired with a chip-embedded food tray so they can start taking food from the buffet, scanning their tray at each collection point.
Although not all universities will be ready for this level of automation, enabling them to take the next step in food ordering and payment will help them in the eyes of their students and faculty. Young people live through their smartphones and expect to be able to access information, goods and services instantly. Giving students access to a click & collect service through mobile, or online ordering, helps to drive footfall to canteens and food halls where they know they don’t have to stand in a line to collect it.
If you’re at the Higher Education Smart Campus Association (HESCA) conference in Cambridge today, Preoday will be speaking, together with our partner Counter Solutions at our session “How digital ordering & self service solutions are disrupting hospitality ePoS on campus”. We will be exploring how digital ordering can help university catering providers step up their offering and make students’ lives on campus easier. It would be great to see you there!
It’s not as catchy as: ‘When is a door not a door?’ (answer, when it’s a jar) but it speaks to the idea that in-car collection, and the technologies that support it, are flexible enough to bend to the needs of a business and its guests.
Delivery can be daunting to the uninitiated, and it might be tempting to sign up with a third-party ordering aggregator that offers the service, such as UberEats, but other options could suit your business and brand better. Here we present three different ‘levels’ of delivery, starting with the most basic – and cheapest method: doing it yourself.
This month, the University of Bristol, University of Surrey and King’s College London debuted the world’s first end-to-end 5G network at Mobile World Congress, the mobile industry’s biggest annual show. According to their press release:
This technology will allow experts – from skilled surgeons to professional musicians – to share in real-time their physical expertise with a global audience. Surgeons will be able to physically guide medical students on other continents. Musicians will be able to transmit their ‘muscle memory’ wirelessly to exoskeletons worn by beginners – demonstrating the movements required to perform the most complex compositions, without needing to be in the same room.
These are exciting times, and it’s great to see UK universities at the forefront of technology breakthroughs. Of course, universities are not just the birthplaces of great new technologies, they are also a place where technology is used abundantly on an everyday level to enhance students’ lives. Within universities, students are enormous consumers of technology, embracing the latest gadgets and gizmos. As universities are under pressure to provide value for money for students to justify rising fees, the wider experience and facilities on offer are part of this and need to meet high expectations.
Some of the technologies being implemented are making headlines, and some are just making students’ lives easier. Augmented and virtual reality are being used to bring curricula to life. Augmented reality technology lets students operate a chemical plant from the classroom, while other universities have used Artificial Intelligence to offer 24/7 online student advisory services to improve the student experience.
My personal interest is in giving students a more convenient, and healthier, experience at mealtimes. Busy students grabbing food or a drink between lectures or lab sessions shouldn’t need to resort to vending machines or chips for a quick bite. Universities around the world are already exploring ways to speed up the canteen experience and make it more convenient and appealing for students.
In China, a canteen in the Zhejiang Province has become popular for offering high-tech dining experiences. Teachers and students at the university register their personal information, mobile number and a campus card for payment. Their face is then scanned in the canteen and a diner is paired with a chip-embedded food tray so they can start taking food from the buffet, scanning their tray at each collection point.
Although not all universities will be ready for this level of automation, enabling them to take the next step in food ordering and payment will help them in the eyes of their students and faculty. Young people live through their smartphones and expect to be able to access information, goods and services instantly. Giving students access to a click & collect service through mobile, or online ordering, helps to drive footfall to canteens and food halls where they know they don’t have to stand in a line to collect it.
If you’re at the Higher Education Smart Campus Association (HESCA) conference in Cambridge today, I’ll be speaking, together with our partner Counter Solutions at our session “How digital ordering & self service solutions are disrupting hospitality ePoS on campus” at 2pm. We will be exploring how digital ordering can help university catering providers step up their offering and make students’ lives on campus easier. It would be great to see you there!
It’s not as catchy as: ‘When is a door not a door?’ (answer, when it’s a jar) but it speaks to the idea that in-car collection, and the technologies that support it, are flexible enough to bend to the needs of a business and its guests.
Delivery can be daunting to the uninitiated, and it might be tempting to sign up with a third-party ordering aggregator that offers the service, such as UberEats, but other options could suit your business and brand better. Here we present three different ‘levels’ of delivery, starting with the most basic – and cheapest method: doing it yourself.
