Durham University

The situation

Durham is a top-ranked institution with nearly 21,000 students and 4,000 staff across multiple campuses. The university recently undertook an ambitious expansion, developing a new Business School building designed to reflect the institution’s standing as the world’s sixth-best business school. The challenge was creating teaching spaces that would serve both traditional lecture formats and collaborative learning models, requiring sophisticated integration of audio-visual and video conferencing technology that staff could use intuitively without technical barriers.

What SCC did

SCC’s Visavvi division had built a relationship with Durham over several years, starting with classroom refits before expanding to larger projects. For the new Business School building, Visavvi took a design-led approach, working across the entire facility to specify and install integrated AV systems. Rather than treating audio, visual and conferencing as separate installations, the design prioritised user experience. Systems were configured so that lecturers and facilitators could operate them simply, without needing technical support to switch between inputs, adjust sound levels or launch video calls.

When SCC installed new equipment, they were on site for two weeks after installation, working through the workflow with staff, troubleshooting, and making adjustments. The management model was different too: SCC provided proactive monitoring of device performance, predictive maintenance, and detailed project planning with weekly meetings and RAID logs. Issues were identified before they became problems.

What changed

The new building now hosts collaborative areas, lecture theatres and teaching spaces equipped with systems that support both planned and spontaneous learning interactions. Staff adoption has been straightforward because the interfaces match how people naturally work. Visiting academics and guest lecturers can connect their own devices without friction, and remote participants integrate smoothly into sessions if the space is hosting 200 students or a small tutorial group.

In 2023, Derby’s success led to an extension: SCC took on managed print services for Derbyshire County Council, managing 250 multifunction devices across 200 sites. In 2025, the contract was further extended for six years to 2030.

What the client learned

Chris Pearson, Senior Manager AV & IT Installations, reflected on the partnership: “It’s been great working with Visavvi from design through to implementation to commissioning to sign off. Now we have some fantastic systems that are simple to use for the users, and will just offer us a brilliant and world class teaching facility.” The value, Durham found, came from the design process as much as from the systems themselves that anticipated how people would actually use them.