18 May 2021
The University of Birmingham Dubai has appointed IT services and solutions provider CDW to help create a high-quality technology environment for students and staff at its new campus.
Following a successful tender process, the company will provide equipment and support across the state-of-the-art campus. Students and staff will be provided with Lenovo laptops and the campus network will support WiFi6. Smart sensors across teaching spaces will map people flows - allowing the most efficient use of the buildings. Students will be able to structure their time on campus through dedicated mobile apps and smart scheduling.
These technologies will combine to provide students and faculty with a seamless suite of tools built bespoke for the University experience. The infrastructure is also modular by design to allow for future innovation and growth.
“Our new building has been designed as an ‘Intelligent Campus’ - embedded with flexible, cutting-edge technology allowing innovative, multidisciplinary teaching and learning,” said University of Birmingham Dubai Provost, professor David Sadler. “CDW will help us to deliver a flexible and powerful teaching environment in Dubai that students and staff will enjoy. Everyone – students and staff alike – is eagerly looking forward to moving into our brand-new, bespoke campus building later this year. We believe that, in our new academic home, we will deliver an educational experience like no other in Dubai.”
A university procurement selection panel, led by category manager (ICT) Thomas Hasson, made a recommendation to senior leaders who approved the contract award to CDW.
The company will oversee the full suite of technology solutions for the campus and the company is working with a number of strategic partners in key areas. Dell Technologies will take care of data centre computing and storage, Lenovo will provide devices, workstations and laptops, while Fortinet has been selected for firewall security. Meanwhile, Cisco will run WAN and LAN – including a true software-defined network, Rubrik will supply data backup, security and APC for power protection, while Infoblox is in charge of DNS. The Dubai campus is due to open Autumn 2021.
