Virtual Solutions from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

During this time of unprecedented change, the School is learning to adapt to new ways of working and offering, where possible, virtual solutions for our clients.

Oxford Said has a range of platforms available to help stay connected moving forward. Future events will rely on a degree of social distancing for some time, and with this in mind, we will be able to offer a blended conference experience, utilising both physical conference rooms and a virtual solution, allowing larger numbers of delegates to attend without the need to restrict numbers.

The Oxford HIVE

The Oxford HIVE (Hub for International Virtual Education) is one of the UK’s first immersive virtual meeting and presentation experiences, seamlessly connecting people across the world in a virtual learning experience.

Our virtual classroom can be utilised for the following types of events:
• In-house training
• Public lectures to a global audience
• Presentations to boards and committees
• Team meetings

Benefits include:
• Engaging and interactive for the participants
• Increase engagement and interaction with attendees over traditional webinar methods
• Reduce cost of travel, accommodation, and carbon footprint
• Connectivity across the world
• On-site technical support

One-Touch Video (RapidMooc)

We recently won the Best In-House Technology award at the annual Academic Venue Awards, hosted in London, for our RapidMooc video platform solution.

The One-Touch Video Recording Studio Service allows anybody to record an educational or promotional video without any on-site technical support or without the need for later editing. The role of video in education has increased exponentially in the last few years. This system allows us to produce high quality videos to support courses and other events without the necessity of external media specialists.

The Studio was implemented using a new technology integration provided by RapidMooc, establishing effective support policies with the AV team. The studio is set up in such a way that it can be used autonomously. The process for recording a video consists of three simple steps.

The recorded video is copied to a USB key to be shared via Vimeo, YouTube or other internal systems. The video can be edited later but this is not necessary in most cases.

Rapidmooc has been used to create successful videos for a variety of purposes including:
• Mini lectures presenting academic content
• Short summaries of academic papers
• Pitches for elective lectures
• Staff training and induction videos
• Presentations of student projects
• Video CVs summary

The technology contains the following highlights:
• Easy to use, no technical skills required, no post-production needed
• Real time chroma key recording monitored live on a large TV screen: what you see is what you get.
• Video background captured from your own device using a simple HDMI cable or Apple Airplay
• Customizable teleprompter (text size, speed) including a text editor
• Auto generated closed captions for accessibility
• Integrated tools for video post-production
• Videos can be exported to USB Key, YouTube, and Vimeo

The conference team recently used the technology to produce videos regarding health and safety information, which can be sent to the event organiser prior to the event as well as playing on-screen upon arrival for all delegates. The videos are bite-sized and easy to digest rather than word-heavy PDF instruction guides.

We are looking to provide more how to guides in the future as well.

Virtual Tour (360 degrees)

As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and reducing the need for physical show arounds with clients, we have recently completed a virtual tour for the Park End Street main venue. The Thatcher Business Education Centre (TBEC) was completed last year so we are delighted the portfolio is now complete. The virtual platform allows prospective clients, as well returning clients to view our facilities, floor plans, individual rooms, and layout styles as well as links to download the conference and hospitality brochures and room capacities.

The unique ‘doll’s house’ feature demonstrates the true sense of the scale of the space and how each area is linked with communal areas, restaurants, and meeting rooms. Studies show users spend three times longer on websites with virtual tours, giving us the opportunity to stand out from our competitors. The virtual tours are available to view via our website and are are another useful edition during this time when clients are not able to come and view rooms in person.

LiveChat

The conference team is shortly launching a LiveChat functionality on the conference webpages. The team will be managing the chat and will be responsive to any enquiries. The system also has an out-of-hours function, ensuring our clients both current and new, can access all the information they need in a fast-changing and flexible working day.

For more information on all our services please do contact us: conference@sbs.ox.ac.uk