Vizst support a major uplift in performance, roaming and student experience for Arts University Bournemouth
Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) set out to significantly improve the digital experience for students across both campus and halls of residence – without increasing costs, and within an immovable summer delivery window.
The vision
With responsibility for the halls’ Wi-Fi unexpectedly returning to the internal IT team, AUB faced a complex challenge: ageing infrastructure, legacy authentication, incomplete requirements and tightening education budgets. The existing proposal offered limited functionality at a sustained cost and failed to support AUB’s ambitions around student experience, performance and long-term value.
Working with Vizst Technology, AUB delivered a modern, enterprise-grade Wi-Fi solution that aligned halls and campus networks into a single, seamless environment. The project replaced outdated hardware and standards, improved authentication and roaming, and created a consistent “student bubble” experience – all delivered on time, within budget, and with minimal disruption ahead of student arrival.
The result was a major uplift in capability, reliability and future readiness, giving AUB significantly more value for the same spend at a time when budgets were under intense pressure.
The challenges
Over 20 years, the AUB team worked with several partners but struggled to find one that felt like the right long-term fit. At the same time, education budgets & timescales have been tightening. This was brought into sharp focus during a change to AUB’s facilities management contract, which included the halls of residence network. Following staff changes and a complex tender process, responsibility for the halls’ Wi-Fi landed back with the internal IT team at short notice and with many gaps in the requirements, meaning a true partner was needed to provide foresight and quote accurately.
The existing proposal involved continuing with ageing infrastructure, legacy authentication and limited functionality at a sustained cost. It did not align with AUB’s priorities around student experience or long-term value.
AUB needed a partner who could work at an enterprise level, move quickly, and deliver more within, or below, the existing budget.
The solution
Working to the extremely tight summer timescales and a fixed budget, Vizst partnered with AUB to bring the halls of residence network in-house and align it fully with the main campus infrastructure. Improved authentication & setup stage, and a newer standard of performance Wi-Fi was deployed, creating a student bubble, allowing students to roam and connect back into anything when back in their room too.
The university gained a major uplift in capability, performance and future readiness without increasing costs at a time when budgets were under intense pressure.
As with any education project, curveballs emerged along the way. Connectivity challenges and unexpected issues required rapid, practical solutions. Vizst’s engineers worked closely with the AUB team to implement temporary fixes where needed, keeping costs under control while maintaining progress. The responsiveness and flexibility of the Vizst team proved critical in meeting immovable deadlines ahead of student arrival. Despite the pressure, disruption was kept to a minimum, and the solution was well received.
The results
Modernised wireless infrastructure
at no extra cost
Replaced ageing hardware with Extreme Networks Wi-Fi-solution
Improved authentication &
sign-up processes
Creating a smoother and move intuitive experience for students
Seamless network experience
Seamless roaming connectivity with unified credentials &
access policies across campus locations
Extended campus services in halls
Integrated accommodation networks with
wider university environment & core systems
Big enough to deliver enterprise-grade solutions, but small enough to build genuine relationships, Vizst aligned closely with how AUB wanted to work. Rather than acting as a reseller, Vizst positioned itself as a partner, focused on collaboration, knowledge sharing and growing together.
Crucially, Vizst shared AUB’s commitment to putting student experience at the heart of every technical decision. Part of this was rolling out a significantly improved system during the summer holidays whilst the halls of residence were empty, spend no more than the existing budget, brand it all uniformly and ensure seamless experience for existing returning students across campus, halls and the main institute network..
The benefits
Enhanced student experience
Students can move between campus and accommodation without interruption, creating a simpler and more connected digital experience.
Unified digital environment
The halls network now extends the wider university environment, providing consistent access to services across locations.
Improved network performance
Upgraded Wi-Fi and authentication deliver a more dependable experience for learning, creativity and everyday student life..
Supporting student recruitment
Modern, high-performing digital services help AUB meet student expectations in an increasingly competitive sector.
Enabling learnign and creativity
Students benefit from reliable access to the tools and platforms they need to study, collaborate and create.
Continuous improvement
Ongoing optimisation, fine-tuning and knowledge sharing ensure the environment continues to evolve and deliver value.
“Vizst proved to be exactly the right size partner for Arts University Bournemouth. They are big enough to handle enterprise demands, yet small enough to maintain close relationships and adapt quickly. By understanding the realities of education funding and tight timescales, while keeping the student experience front and centre, Vizst delivered far more for the same budget and showed a genuine commitment to building a long term partnership based on trust and collaboration.”
Andrew England
Head of Digital Services – Arts University Bournemouth