The key purpose of the Programme Board for Education Space (PBES) is to define the University’s vision for education space, and to work with the Estates Division and Schools, Faculties and Departments to stimulate collaboration across the University; prioritise the development of areas most in need; advocate to Estates the requirements of those engaged in education, and to set the operating standards, which can be implemented in new builds and monitored in current spaces.
PBES, is accountable to the General Board, and reports to the Planning and Resources Committee (PRC) and, is fully aligned with the Reshaping our Estate programme. It supports the delivery of the vision for the education estate whilst also ensuring initiatives proposed by Schools, Faculties and Departments support the strategic education needs of the University.
The Board supports initiatives around education space at School and department level, as well as coordinating space-related work in Education Services, Estates Division, and University Information Services. PBES has also carried out refurbishments and other projects to deliver improvements to the provision and quality of shared teaching space across the University, thanks to £5m funding approved by PRC. You can find out more about these projects in the news section.
The Board’s priorities are:
- Consultation and feedback: We seek the views of Schools, faculties and departments on education space at Cambridge. Members of the Programme Board will consult a wide range of students and colleagues in order to inform our plan of action.
- Data-gathering and modelling: We collect as much information as possible about educational need and current patterns of space usage, and develop better modelling tools to process that data, to ensure that our recommendations are based on robust evidence.
- Identifying and sharing good practice: We gather examples of good practice, successful projects and innovative ideas around education space, from across the University and beyond.
PBES has set out five goals for the 23-24 academic year:
- Ensure there is a plan to address the short, medium and long term needs for Sidgwick and other teaching and examination areas under pressure including approaches to decant.
- Agree priorities for investment and secure a medium to long term funding allocation for PBES from PRC, to enable PBES to direct improvements in the teaching and assessment estate.
- Take steps to ensure that all University teaching space is on Booker and shareable.
- Determine the replacement for Timetable.cam.
- Consider learning points from output of pilots and Sidgwick modelling project.