Set in the vibrant city of Dublin, the Dublin City University (DCU) campus’s main entrance is an extraordinary and welcoming site. You are greeted by an amazing timber and concrete sculpture situated at the main entrance designed by ZAP Architecture. In fact the DCU Entrance Sculpture at Dublin City University scooped the Irish Concrete Awards for 2014.
As part of the DCU strategy towards innovation and the enhancement of the student experience, they were looking to use technology to achieve the long term goal of becoming a ‘digital campus’.
One of the initiatives towards achieving this goal was to implement a self-service system for loaning laptops to students. Having used LapSafe® Mentor™ storage and charging trolleys across the campus for their classroom laptops over the last few years, Ian Spillane ISS Desk Service Manager felt LapSafe® would probably have the solution he was looking for.
After watching a video of the Diplomat™ LMS on the website, Ian found that his problem of wanting a self service system could be solved. Ian did his homework and also looked at other manufacturers but soon found that nothing else came close to what LapSafe® could offer. Ian said, “It made a lot of sense to go the self-service route with LapSafe®, their products have always been excellent design and high quality, and it gives us everything we require and need. We can also upgrade by adding additional lockers if and when required at a later date”.
DCU were the first organisation in Ireland to introduce a self-service laptop loan unit using LapSafe® Products. The library at DCU is situated within the beautiful grounds of the campus in a new building with a spectacular glass atrium and it is here that the Diplomat LMS 24 bay unit was installed.
By October 2013 the students were able to loan a laptop for up to three hours at a time from the Diplomat™ LMS. No longer were they having to carry their own devices around on campus but could borrow one on a short term loan and return it, just like they would a library book. Ian continued “as the unit is self service the students are able to use their student cards and they are able to complete a transaction without the involvement of a member of staff. They simply scan their student card to log in and complete the transaction to take loan of a laptop and do the same to return it. It has been a huge success”.
With 12,000 students in one large campus the Diplomat™ LMS covers over 1,500 loans per month of laptops to students.
With the success of their laptop self-service loan scheme at DCU the university has now become a reference site for other universities in Ireland to visit. This enables other potential users to be able to ask questions freely and share in their knowledge whilst seeing the unit working for themselves.
For more case studies and information on the Diplomat™ LMS please visit www.lapsafe.com