The College Space Sharing Programme is looking at a range of ways to use our campus space more efficiently and appropriately, whilst supporting the best possible teaching and learning experience for students and staff. Part of this work is to build a picture of the extent to which our shared spaces are currently used.  

We have rolled out software which uses our wifi technology to gather real time anonymised data in 15 buildings on our South Kensington Campus. This occupancy data will be available via licence for members of our College community to develop insights which can inform resolutions to space constraints. 

Which are the buildings involved?

Why are you doing this?

Once the system is in place, collecting this data will have many uses for the College such as:

Longer term, it should help us make best use of our current spaces and enable us to identify opportunities for re-planning so that we can use our shared spaces more effectively and support planned growth in our student numbers. 

Does this happen in other places?

Yes - collecting data of this kind is now routine in many public institutions including museums, airports, train stations and large corporations, as a way to manage space and flows of people. Real-time access to this sort of data can enable individuals to make choices about when to visit. 

You may well already be familiar with the way similar data is used - for example Google’s information on how busy a restaurant is when you search for them online.  

Have you done anything like this before?

This work builds on the “automatic people counter” data gathered in a small number of our teaching spaces over the last couple of years, but uses existing sensing technologies already available across campus. The next phase will allow us to collect data much more widely across our shared spaces, initially on the South Kensington Campus. 

How can I get involved?

We’d like your help to make sure we get the data generated to the people who could use it most, so we have set up the Space Data Insights Group to analyse the data from this and other data sources, and we are looking for volunteers for both academic and support services to get involved. If you’re interested please contact email spacesharing@imperial.ac.uk