Hybrid meeting rooms: The office of the future
Get the best of both worlds, combining in-person and remote gatherings in one of ICTS's new hybrid facilities.
By now, we’re all used to virtual meetings using technologies like Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Some of us have loved being able to connect and collaborate from the comfort of our homes or other locations. Others have missed the warmth and human touch that in-person interaction brings.
With the pandemic behind us, and in-person activities returning, it’s a chance to bring the best of both worlds together – giving people a chance to meet in ways that work most effectively for them, while maximising productivity.
With this in mind, UCT is exploring the concept of ‘the office of the future’ – hybrid working environments and models that allow flexibility while also maintaining presence for co-workers. This sort of model allows colleagues to work together whether they are in the same physical room or not.
As we begin this journey into a new kind of work environment, ICTS set up hybrid spaces where colleagues on campus can work together in a physical meeting room, while those working from home can join in remotely.
What's on offer?
In the pilot phase, which ran from November 2022 until the end of May 2023, any UCT department could book and use one of the ICTS rooms for meetings and other collaborative activities.
Both rooms were located in the ICTS on Main building, at 7 Main Road, Mowbray.
You could use these rooms for:
- Hybrid meetings via Teams or Zoom
- In-person only meetings
- Presentations (with or without your own laptop)
- Drawing from scratch or on existing images or documents, via an electronic whiteboard (with the ability to save your drawings)
The rooms included the following:
| ICTS COLLABORATION ROOM 304 | ICTS BOARDROOM 315 |
|---|---|
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There was also a mobile version of the solution, which could be wheeled into smaller rooms that seat four to six people. In the pilot, you could only use this in a room within ICTS on Main.
What are the benefits?
- Experience the solution at no cost: While many of us would like a fully loaded hybrid meeting room in our building, the reality is that this kind of setup is costly. With this pilot, any UCT department has the opportunity to experience the technology. Later on, more of these rooms may be rolled out to various buildings around campus – either for departments’ exclusive use, or shared usage.
- Optimal audio: While many spaces on campus might not have good acoustics, these meeting rooms have great audio setups – with sophisticated microphones which capture the voices of team members seated around the table.
- Flexibility to suit your circumstances: Let’s face it: When you need to host a meeting with a large group, it can be a real mission trying to get a venue on campus. Lecture theatres are usually booked out for academic activities, and other spaces are often not big enough to accommodate your entire audience. A hybrid meeting room helps to alleviate these venue constraints, because you can fit in a generous number of people in the physical room, and many more can join in virtually. Meeting attendees may also have constraints that make it difficult for them to attend in-person meetings. Plus, travelling to campus for a meeting takes up valuable working time; not to mention petrol.
- Fully operational during loadshedding: The equipment in the rooms run on backup power, so even if loadshedding strikes, you can continue your meeting uninterrupted.
How to book (pilot phase only)
To book one of the ICTS hybrid meeting rooms:
- In your Outlook calendar, click New Meeting.
- Set up your meeting by adding a title, the attendees, date and time, and any other details in the main window.
- In the Location field, leave the Microsoft Teams Meeting entry as is (to allow remote attendance), then add the relevant room as one of the attendees:
- ICTS Collaboration Room 304; or
- ICTS Boardroom Room 315
- If you will be running a video conference using the room’s screen (i.e. you will NOT use your own laptop), add the relevant room as a meeting participant:
- For a Teams meeting: In the Required attendees field, enter: ICTS COLLABORATION ROOM 304 (ICTS-Collaboration-Room@mscloudtest.uct.ac.za) or ICTS BOARDROOM 315 (ICTS-Boardroom-Room@mscloudtest.uct.ac.za)
- For a Zoom meeting: Invite ICTS COLLABORATION ROOM 304 (ICTS-Collaboration-Room@mscloudtest.uct.ac.za) or ICTS BOARDROOM 315 (ICTS-Boardroom-Room@mscloudtest.uct.ac.za)
- Click Send.
To book the mobile video conferencing unit:
Note: The mobile unit may only be used within the ICTS on Main building at this time. You will need to book another ICTS room in order to use this unit.
- In your Outlook calendar, click New Meeting.
- Set up your meeting by adding a title, the attendees, date and time, and any other details in the main window.
- In the Location field, leave the Microsoft Teams Meeting entry as is (to allow remote attendance), then:
- Add the relevant ICTS room you are booking (this will NOT be one of the hybrid rooms mentioned above).
- Add ICTS-Mobile-VC as one of the attendees.
- If you will be running a video conference in the room using the mobile unit’s screen (i.e. you will NOT use your own laptop), add the screen as a meeting participant:
- For a Teams meeting: In the Required attendees field, enter: ICTS-Mobile-VC (ICTS-Mobile-VC@mscloudtest.uct.ac.za)
- For a Zoom meeting: Invite ICTS-Mobile-VC (ICTS-Mobile-VC@mscloudtest.uct.ac.za)
- Click Send.
What happens next?
Once your meeting is accepted, an email will be sent to you with instructions on what to do when you arrive at the ICTS building, how to set up and use the video conferencing equipment, and support details.
See it in action
For a closer look at the hybrid meeting rooms, check out our promotional video below:
Remote video URL
