By Lisa Stephens and Rebecca V. Frazee of FLEXspace.org
This month’s theme is about emerging technologies, and given the FLEXspace focus on environments and spaces, we invited Saeed Dyanatkar (he/him), Executive Producer at University of British Columbia to share his story about the spaces that support the Emerging Media Lab (EML) initiative.
Emerging Media Lab at UBC Launched From UBC Studios’ “VR” lab in 2017
First of all, the name. In immersive and emerging technologies, there are many different types of “X reality” such as AR/VR and XR and also with technology changing so quickly, we decided to go with a more generic term, “Emerging Media Lab” (EML). Staying away from “x reality” names helps to future-proof the branding of the lab.
The idea for the EML came from a group of faculty and staff who wanted to use emerging and immersive technologies to enhance teaching and learning. In 2016, the UBC Studios ran a couple of pilot projects that were a good fit in this regard. After finishing these projects successfully, I shared the idea of an innovation lab with our CIO because of the requests coming up from the faculty. The CIO and IT senior leadership loved the concept and found it in line with the UBC IT strategy, In 2017, the EML was founded and established under UBC IT.
At first, we designated some space for this purpose at UBC Studios and called it the VR lab. We used this space to show faculty members the prospects of Virtual Reality. It is really hard to describe virtual reality and one needs to experience it to understand what it is. We created this space inside the UBC Studios in 2016 one year before EML was officially funded. We would bring faculty in and show them what we were talking about, and that’s how we recruited our first faculty members to do the first couple of projects.
Faculty Engagement is a Two-Way Street
The EML is open to anyone on campus from any discipline. Individual faculty or program leads can come and use the resources of the lab. The EML is intended to be fully interdisciplinary and collaborative so faculty get to work with other faculty and students from different disciplines. Most faculty members who come to the lab, usually bring a problem they need to solve using emerging technology. They are curious about what ‘emerging media’ means. We show them what’s been done or what kind of projects and products exist in the industry. Some faculty members who already have project ideas but no place on campus to try them reach out to EML for support as well.
The first rule of engagement is, this is about two-way communication — there’s as much commitment from the faculty as there is from our team. Faculty are part of the team. They are the subject matter experts for a project team that mostly consists of undergrad students, mentored by staff and industry advisors.
From Faculty Inquiry, to Proof of Concept and MVP
“Can you talk a little bit more about the culture of innovation and who your champions were that drove the investment in this space because many campuses are nowhere near what you all have done?”
Yes, this is an important question. The emerging media lab at UBC was created in a kind of organic fashion. Of course, there was support from the administration, but it wasn’t mandated. A group of staff and faculty decided that this was something that they needed to do for UBC students. We are grateful the administration put their support behind it.
When faculty come to EML with a question or problem, we go through a discovery process to determine what resources are available to solve the problem. They bring their innovative ideas and EML provides the space and resources to experiment. There are traditional funding resources at UBC, however, the funding cycles are at least one year which means given the speedy nature of emerging technology that you often can’t wait for a year. If you want to do something with emerging technology, you need to start now. So the EML filled this gap that existed from the funding cycles. Faculty members don’t need funding to start their proof of concept with EML.
When the EML doesn’t have the resources, we may play matchmaker using our strong connections to the community and industry. So anytime a great idea for innovation comes forward, but we don’t have the resources, we put them in touch with another partner either internal or external that could take the project in.
EML Projects
Our focus is on the problem and not technology. We don’t do anything just because we want to use a specific technology. When we talk with technology providers, we always make that clear. When faculty bring their problem or idea, we look at the problem first to see what exactly we are trying to solve and then look for a solution or technology that fits best for that specific need.
EML provides a space where there is permission to fail. This means that it’s okay if something doesn’t work. The focus is on lessons learned and we document and share the results.
For each project, we assign resources usually for one academic term, about four months, during which time the team works on a proof of concept. At the end of the term, the results get evaluated and a decision is made on whether or not to move forward with the idea. Select projects move to create a minimum viable product (MVP). Every year we have a few proofs of concepts, but due to limited capacity and funding, only one or two projects are taken to the next level as MVPs.
Projects First, Space Next
The physical space was the last item on our list of priorities when we were initiating the Emerging Media Lab. We had to decide whether or not to wait for the perfect space, or move ahead and start working on projects. We decided to go with the latter as the physical space wasn’t a prerequisite for the projects we wanted to do. In addition, when we looked at what was going on at other campuses across North America, we found that there were some research labs but not the kind of “open lab” we were envisioning. If we wanted to be ahead of the curve we needed to start quickly.
Like a Startup, EML Began in a Basement
The EML effort consists of four main spaces, starting with the “dev” space in the basement.
First, the development space in the basement
It began with an existing space, a large basement in one of the Faculty of Education buildings that was partitioned and shared with an AV team. That’s where the EML’s development teams are located still. If you talk to any startup they will tell you that basements are the best place to start a startup and this was perfect for us too — no distractions, no windows, and our team could focus on their projects.
Next, a space for project demo and promotions in the library
The next space was to showcase EML projects. This space needed to be accessible to everyone and located in a neutral space, not bound to one Faculty or discipline. Faculty members from all disciplines need to feel that they can take advantage of the EML and the library seemed to be perfect for this. The UBC Library was also very excited because they wanted to show that the library is not only about books — emerging technology is also part of what the library can offer. So we worked with the Library and with some support from the Centre for Teaching Learning and Technology created our public-facing space.
This space is located in a library building that isn’t the regular ‘library books’ type of space. It’s more like a learning center with spaces for collaborations, for meetings, with open spaces where students can sit around in comfy couches.
Recently, after the reopening of campus, we have started our drop-in sessions right in the middle of open space on the main floor. Students and other visitors can drop by and see what is going on – “Oh, what is this project that you’re showing here, and what are all these cool technologies that you’re wearing?”. When they see samples of EML work and get interested, we send them to the EML room where they can see more in-depth demos.
Then, a workshop space
The third space we wanted was a place for workshops for faculty and students. For example, a space where there could be hubs for groups of five or six people working together on projects during the workshop. We were given access to one of the relatively large rooms in a different building. Unfortunately, as soon as we had access to the room, the pandemic happened so all of the in-person workshops were canceled. We do our workshops virtually at the moment, but we’re hoping that we can start using that space again soon.
And, a small studio space
The last space we needed was a small studio for 3D captures including photogrammetry and volumetric capture, which required space with a high ceiling and enough space for the equipment. For this, we were given access to a small and older studio space that wasn’t being used for a few years.
EML Projects Supported Online Classes During the Pandemic
That studio space became very useful for emergency remote teaching during the pandemic. One project we did involve a technology called “photogrammetry” which basically means you use lots of pictures to create a 3D model of an object. There are some courses that require in-person lab time but during pandemic, they couldn’t happen. The 3D capture project proved to be a big help for some of our faculty teaching during pandemic.
Open, Flexible Spaces are Best
“What’s on your wish list in terms of new spaces or audiences for EML?”
When people come and ask us what we suggest to buy in terms of technology, or what kind of space. My answer is always the same — don’t buy anything, unless you need it.
In terms of space, just an open and flexible space – don’t bolt anything anywhere. Everything should be on wheels – your workstations, your power source, everything should be flexible enough that you can rearrange everything when you need them, so an ideal space for an innovation lab like EML would be an open and flexible space.
Of course, nicely colored and hopefully some windows. Windows not because we need views, but because we want to show what is happening inside the lab so people are invited to come in and see it; like a fishbowl. It would be somewhere in the middle of a large space, like the library learning centre where people can see inside. That would be the ideal.
An Ethos of Share and Share Alike
Everything we do is open, we don’t keep anything to ourselves, and that’s one of the reasons people come and talk to us. We are happy to share the code, our products, process what worked, what didn’t work. So documentation is a big part of EML. We share documentation with anyone who’s interested. We are a public university, so there is no competition, really. We like it when other Universities are able to use our efforts and resources.
Using Technology for the Public Good
“Are there any other target audiences that you would like to see using EML?”
We are always looking for ways of promoting what we are doing, not because we are promoting ourselves, but to spread the word. We have had visitors from all across the globe. They wanted to see what we are doing because of our reputation. When they did come in, some of them would be disappointed, because they would see us in a non-fancy room in a basement. But then as soon as we put their headsets they could see the result of our work and forget about the space we are in.
As I mentioned, we sometimes play matchmaker. We are a hub for connecting people within academia and industry. Sometimes people come from industry or the public, and they are looking for faculty who can collaborate with them and vice versa. That would be another audience for this type of open lab. Most of our showcases are open to the public, not just for university. We advertise that across different channels and we’ve had people come from the financial sector, mining companies and healthcare, for instance. UBC is a public university funded by the public and so we try to focus on using technology for the good of the society as much as possible.
Executive Producer of UBC Studios
Saeed Dyanatkar is the Executive Producer of the award-winning UBC Studios and Emerging Media Lab at the University of British Columbia. He has been working on applications of emerging technologies in teaching and learning for over a decade at UBC.
In 2016, in collaboration with a group of faculty and staff, Saeed proposed the creation of an innovation incubation hub, and one year later, with support from the University leadership, the Emerging Media Lab (EML) was founded at UBC.
Saeed, in collaboration with colleagues from other universities, also initiated the Emerging Media Community of Practice (EM CoP) where practitioners and researchers meet, exchange ideas, and share their work on a regular basis.
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The FLEXspace Team
Assistant Dean, Digital & Online Education
School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, The University at Buffalo
Project Director, FLEXspace.org
LISA STEPHENS, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean, Digital & Online Education
School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, The University at Buffalo
Project Director, FLEXspace.org
Lisa serves as Assistant Dean at the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences leading the Office of Digital & Online Education, and also serves as Senior Strategist for Academic Innovation in the Office of the SUNY Provost. She enjoys an appointment in the UB Department of Communication as an Adjunct Associate Professor. Her SUNY portfolio includes leadership of FLEXspace.org™ and serves as the SUNY Partner Manager for Coursera.
Faculty, Learning Design & Technology Program
San Diego State University
Associate Director, FLEXspace.org
Rebecca teaches in the Learning Design and Technology program at San Diego State University and is the FLEXspace.org Manager. She enjoys experimenting with new technology tools and techniques to support active learning and team collaboration in higher ed and the workplace. Rebecca is a singer and songwriter and has been having fun with asynchronous ‘socially distanced’ recording projects this year. Contact Rebecca at rfrazee@sdsu.edu, and Twitter at @rebeccafrazee.
The Flexible Learning Environments eXchange (FLEXspace.org) is an award-winning community and open digital repository for higher ed that houses a growing collection of user-contributed content “by campuses for campuses,” with detailed examples of formal and informal learning spaces ranging from multimedia studios, maker spaces, computer labs, hybrid/flexible classrooms, and huddle spaces to large exhibit spaces, simulation labs and renovated lecture halls. FLEXspace was launched in 2012 as a collaboration between SUNY, the CSU Cal State University system, and Foothill-DeAnza Community College District and has since grown to include over 5000 members from 1400 campuses around the world, with PennState joining the partnership in 2019. FLEXspace won the Campus Technology Innovators Award in 2016, and the California Higher Education (CHEC) Collaborative Conference Focus on Efficiency Award in 2018.
FLEXspace users include practitioners, experts, and decision-makers in higher education, K-12, libraries, and museums who are focused on campus planning and facilities, learning technology, A/V systems integration, instructional design, teaching, and research. The FLEXspace portal provides a sophisticated suite of features that enables users to document and showcase their own campus learning spaces, share research, best practices, and tools for planning.