Dublin City University (DCU) announce exciting collaboration with Bentley Systems to create Ireland’s first higher education digital campus.
Dublin City University will be Ireland’s first higher education digital campus. DCU and the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at DCU have announced an exciting new research partnership with global software engineering firm Bentley Systems to build Ireland’s first digital university campus.
Project Activities
The project will involve the creation of a “digital twin” which will be a complete 3D version of DCU’s campuses. It will incorporate real-time data, gathered from IoT sensors (Internet of Things) on footfall, congestion points, energy and water usage and other important data which can inform planning and infrastructural development. IoT sensors will be placed in various locations around the campus to gather this information.
Digital twins are an exciting new concept that enable users to visualise infrastructure, track interventions and make changes to improve performance. The project will leverage the considerable expertise of the Insight Centre at DCU to generate valuable data insights that have never been seen before.
DCU has five campuses and almost 17,500 students from 55 countries worldwide, making the university a perfect location to develop, test and trial cutting edge technology. Phase 1 of the partnership was completed in July 2021, this was the creation of a digital twin of the Glasnevin campus. The construction of the other digital campuses will be happening very soon.
The goal of this project will be to use information gathered by the digital twin to:
- Inform and enhance the student experience at DCU. Iot sensors will show congestion points for example, making the campus an autism friendly location.
- Improve efficiency of the campus. Turning off light and heat in unoccupied rooms.
- To act as a base for navigation for all campus users.
Impact
Speaking about the announcement the President of DCU Professor Daire Keogh said,
“This collaboration is an excellent example of the transformative potential of the digital research being conducted at DCU, and Insight SFI centre.
As part of the Smart DCU initiative, the Digital Twin model will help us to advance our vision for creating more sustainable and people-centred campuses. Ultimately, this innovation will improve the DCU student experience and enhance the workplace for university staff.”
The plan for the future of the project is to showcase DCU’s digital campus and highlight the benefits of a digital campus in the university to enable better decision making.
To learn more about Smart DCU see our projects HERE or contact:
Kieran Mahon
Smart DCU Projects Facilitator Manager
kieran@smartdcu.ie
