From Semester 2 this year, students studying within the Murdoch University School of Engineering & IT will have access to a new state-of-the-art networking and gaming facility.
The new 24-hour facility, which is on track for completion by the University’s open day in July, will feature an IT innovation hub to facilitate training and research; a student common room known as the ‘STAR lounge’; in addition to cyber-security and networking labs.
A mixed and augmented reality studio, also known as the ‘MaARs room’, will provide the latest technology for online gaming development.
Meanwhile, the new data and networking operations centre will be fitted out with IBM and Lenovo IT equipment, as well as the latest CISCO telecommunications hardware.
Australian company Vixtro has played a key role in the design and development of the networking centre to ensure it will be fit for teaching purposes going forward.
Vixtro Managing Director Paul Kingston said future students would receive the most relevant training in the networking and telecommunications equipment through a close relationship with Cisco’s Australian training academy.
“By working hand-in-hand with Cisco’s Australian training academy throughout the development phase, we can ensure Murdoch’s networking students will receive training specific to this equipment, setting them up for promising careers in the industry once they graduate,” he said.
Dean of the Murdoch School of Engineering & IT, Bogdan Dlugogorski said the $2.6 million facility was the most significant development for the IT discipline at the School of Engineering & IT for many years and would allow students to take their IT and networking education to the next level.
“This new facility, equipped with the most recent technologies, will provide the current and future IT students enrolled at Murdoch University with a unique learning experience, complete with state-of-the-art gaming and networking laboratories, and an industry-scale data centre,” he said.
“The common spaces in the new facility will foster greater interaction among students, and between students and their academics, allowing them to work across the various fields of IT either individually or in groups.”
Major vendor, Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, will be responsible for the installation of all the facility’s data centre and IT infrastructure, which includes power, cooling, racks, lighting, and cabling in the modern self-contained unit design.
After providing electrical services to the University for more than two decades, Schneider Electric’s VP for IT Division and Strategic Segments Joe Craparotta said he was looking forward to forging an even stronger relationship between the two organisations as part of this development.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to supply the University’s future graduates with Schneider Electric’s latest data centre and IT infrastructure, ensuring systems are highly available and efficient, and equipping graduates to become our IT experts of tomorrow,” Mr Craparotta said.
“Here at Schneider Electric we are passionate about supporting young Australians and our country’s future talent. With this knowledge, they will be able to apply their skills within a vast range of small, medium and large international organisations, particularly those that currently utilise Schneider Electric’s products and solutions.”