AVT Question: Please share your insights into emerging trends and how AV/IT technologies are reshaping the higher education classroom and beyond.
Thought Leader: Stephane Tremblay, President of the SDVoE Alliance
Higher education is in the midst of a technological renaissance, driven by the need for more adaptable, engaging, and future-ready learning environments. As higher education facilities embrace hybrid and flexible learning models, campuses are evolving beyond the traditional lecture hall by integrating classrooms, laboratories, esports arenas, and collaborative spaces with audiovisual technology designed to support diverse approaches and enhance student engagement.
Once a niche extracurricular activity, esports has become a strategic investment for many universities, where purpose-built arenas and training facilities have become recruitment tools and community hubs." —Stephane Tremblay, President of the SDVoE Alliance
As a result, technology managers are tasked with creating scalable, future-proof solutions that accommodate everything from real-time lectures to digital media production. One of the most notable trends shaping this new era is the rise of esports. Once a niche extracurricular activity, esports has become a strategic investment for many universities, where purpose-built arenas and training facilities have become recruitment tools and community hubs. Institutions such as Harrisburg University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have led the way, leveraging robust AV infrastructures to support their esports programs.
The SDVoE Alliance’s Power of 10 initiative directly supports higher education environments with benefits such as zero latency for real-time interaction, uncompressed 4K60 video for immersive visuals, and InstaSwitch for seamless transitions—ideal for classrooms, esports training, and control centers. These features enable institutions to provide pristine video and audio performance with ultra-fast switching that supports everything from high-stakes competitions to interactive coursework.
An example of the Power of 10 in action is Hongkuang University in Taiwan, where the Department of Game Development and Application trains students in digital media and gaming with a complete API-controlled AV system. Their esports training facilities demonstrate how advanced AV and control systems can enhance educational outcomes and the student experience. As higher education facilities continue to evolve, SDVoE provides the performance, versatility, and future-proof infrastructure needed to support engaging learning experiences.
