Original Case Study published here.

Case Study: Monash University

We asked Peter MacLean at Australia’s Monash University if he would recommend Nureva® audio to other universities. And Monash’s audiovisual design manager and lead architect’s answer was an enthusiastic “yes”

Asked to expand on how he might “pitch” Nureva to other higher ed AV/IT professionals, he told us, “The biggest thing I would say to them is that we’ve installed 63 units. For me, that says everything. We have great connections with universities right around Australia, and everyone knows that Monash has very high standards. If we’re rolling out a product then it must work. And we’ve looked at nearly everything on the market as part of our ongoing evaluation of technology.”

Gratifying words. Even more so considering MacLean’s personal background as a passionate audio pro with deep experience and expertise. His ear for great audio — and understanding of its value — has been honed over four decades. Career highlights include work in live broadcast and studio recording, including running a large music recording studio. “From film work to country and western to kids’ talking books to thrash metal — you name it, I’ve worked on it. I know when something sounds good or not, and I know how to adjust it using technology.”

Choosing Nureva

How did MacLean and his team at Australia’s largest university come to choose Nureva? It started with not being satisfied with their legacy solutions, which included traditional multicomponent systems. As MacLean says, “We weren’t happy with any of the ceiling microphone systems. We had tried many different ones, but we just didn’t find they connected the students well enough.”

The Monash team successfully uses wireless gooseneck microphones, placed on each table, to pick up student conversations in their small to extra-large learning spaces. However, they were looking for a lower-costing, simpler system that still delivered high-quality audio for their smaller learning spaces.

“We evaluated a lot of the products on the market but also looked at what other universities were using and what their experiences were,” says MacLean about their search.

Then a trusted supplier, contacted MacLean saying, “you need to listen to this” and sent a link to a Nureva video. MacLean was intrigued — but skeptical: “Marketing videos make a product look nice and shiny, but sometimes when you actually try it, it’s not quite the same.” MacLean was keen to have a closer look, so the supplier arranged to have a demo model sent to Monash and his team took it from there.

Collaborative learning

Collaborative learning is the predominant pedagogical method at Monash. Supporting this, a common classroom scenario is a space with 30-plus students seated at tables of six with remote students connected through Zoom. The instructor, wearing a wireless microphone, moves about the space facilitating and working with students.

Just two Nureva mic and speaker bars provide complete audio coverage for this scenario. Thanks to Nureva’s Adaptive Voice Amplification feature, the instructor’s voice is boosted in the room through the system’s integrated speakers without affecting the remote experience. The speakers also let remote students be heard in the class and they handle playback from other audio sources. Finally, full-room mic coverage, delivered through patented Microphone Mist™ technology, picks up the voices of the in-room students so they can converse with remote classmates.

For MacLean, it’s exactly what they need: “Nureva works extremely well. Wherever you stand in that room or walk around in that room, then you get a very even response. The Microphone Mist technology gives you a much more even coverage across the room, which is what we’re after.”

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