The emergency remote teaching during Covid-19 pandemic made us all rethink the physical space for learning. It is now clear that if people can have a similar experience online, in the comfort of their homes and avoiding unnecessary commutes, they will likely demand more hybrid or blended models. Still, from our room design process, we learned that socialization and creativity were two activities that were significantly impaired by going online. Therefore, we believe that the physical experience directly impacts these activities by encouraging participation and sharing through different physical, cognitive, and visual stimuli.

Despite all the disruptions, students recognized the transformational effort and appreciated the room outcome because it was a room fully adapted to hybrid collaborative work. The next generation of teaching and learning will give:

1. more options - time, space, pedagogical
2. more personalization - more coaching time and individual feedback
3. more context - more links to societal challenges and industry connections
4. more relevance & connection - between the different topics covered.

And our innovation spaces need to leverage these challenges. We also learned that delivering innovative learning experiences implies a room that collects data to monitor engagement and outcomes as a way of constantly adapt to a very dynamic reality in terms of stakeholders’ expectations and societal changes.

After the revealing journey, we can confidently state that an innovation room is... not enough, but the need to act simultaneously on three distinct dimensions: space design, pedagogical tools, and technology integration.

Never take anything for granted: the first prototype of the room was completed during lockdown. It made us realize the importance of hybrid environments and the need to constantly challenge what we know.

The procurement tyranny: the space relies on very different furniture and ergonomic solutions when compared to other spaces in the University. The goal was to showcase to our decision-makers and procurement department the benefits of investing in different, and often more expensive solutions, but with clear and measurable impact.

Context matters: the space helped to inspire and nurture professors to rethink their pedagogical methods in a post covid world by creating a welcoming and safe environment for both online, face-to-face and hybrid teaching and learning.

Evidence-based space design: the set-up of the space allowed the spontaneous formation of a new research strand within the university regarding pedagogical innovation and learning analytics, that should inform and support future space design opportunities.

If you want to go far, go together: the space provided new avenues for partnerships with external stakeholders (Steelcase, LG, landscape architects and interior designers).

Location, Location, Location (or not): the location of the space was not a prime location on campus. It gave a new use to an empty prefabricated building and created a hub with renewed centrality for innovation enthusiasts.

Keep Walking: don’t wait to have all the perfect ideas and the adequate resources in place. Just start and learn along the journey.

The Nova Innovation & Analytics Lab was the first step towards a new era of innovation in Education, aiming to transform the seminar room experience as we know it. At present we have an interdisciplinary team, who share their knowledge and skills towards our common objective: to create innovative ways of teaching and learning. Thus, we started to imagine our Smart Classroom by exploring new environmental, ergonomic, informational and pedagogical attributes collaboratively. Our vision is to focus on the students and provide them the optimal conditions for their learning process. In order to fully transform the learning experience and build capacity, we have adopted digital technologies such as the Internet of Things, and we have set-up sensors and smart devices that help us understand the way users interact with the room, giving them the agency to transform it into different environments.

We are currently developing the “Professor’s Cockpit” to manage the classroom environment (lights, shades, temperature, smells, sound), and find the best solutions to teach two curricular units: Big Data Analytics and Design Thinking. We also have a cohort of master students developing their dissertations on how to measure the impact of space on different pedagogical models, using data from the sensors and the learning platforms.

The holistic solutions applied in this space have already inspired new spaces. From the overall design concept – collaborative and fluid – to the classroom chairs and technology, ideas are now being transferred not only to other classrooms and research labs but also to social spaces.