If you are planning to study in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) then get yourself prepared to witness newly decorated 280 smart classrooms on the campus, as the authority has set up multiple LED screens, flexible clustered seats and wireless communication tools.
The objective of changing the boring décor to the interesting classrooms is to make the students more proactive in groups, including make them learn about the changing demands of the workplace in today's world.
NTU has launched a latest learning hub called The Arc on Wednesday, which includes 56 smart classrooms in a six-storey building. It also has 13 project discussion rooms, a reading room for students and a lecture hall where almost 108 students can be seated.
Last year The Acr received the highest award for sustainable building design in Singapore from Building and Construction Authority called the Green Mark Platinum.
The newly redesigned building now has rooms for workshop purpose, particularly for engineering students. It also has some eco-friendly features such as energy-saving LED lighting, motion sensors and solar-powered systems. Instead of using walls, the designers have given an aluminium sunscreen to The Arc, which reduces solar glare and heat, including a proper ventilation system and keeps the rain out.
The building is also designed to host most of NTU's Singapore Centre for 3D Printing facilities. Research based on smart technologies such as printable electronics, lightweight aircraft components and 3D-printed medical implants will also be conducted in The Arc.
While talking about the new structure of the campus, Subra Suresh, the president of NTU said that the idea of restructuring the new building will provide new avenues to students to discuss ideas and interact across disciplines.
He also mentioned that the new learning arrangement was required to influence the style of teaching, delivery of knowledge and the effectiveness of the learning experience, including to engage students in more discussion with the professors.
NTU's first learning hub was The Hive, which was launched in 2015, has 55 smart classrooms with similar technological facilities like the newly launched The Arc.
An NTU professor called Suresh also mentioned on Wednesday that NTU is working on redesigning its 50 percent of undergraduate courses, which will be useful for their flipped-classroom method.
In addition to that Suresh said that The Arc is an integral part of their Smart Campus idea. They are looking forward to adopting the digital technologies to support better learning and to improve the sustainability of resources.
