21st Century Spaces in the School of MIA

We asked Aeronautical Engineering student, Lindo Mtsweni, to walk around the renovated spaces in the South and North West Engineering buildings to give us a student's take on the changes. She wrote this after visiting the 3D Printing and CNC laser lab and the renovated venues.

The School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical has been working on a number of projects, one of which is the upgrade of the School’s infrastructure. One of the aims of the infrastructure upgrade project was to enhance the learning and teaching process; to help members of the School – both students and staff – to feel more welcome and comfortable, to learn more, interact more and encourage creative thinking. Doesn't hurt to upgrade a thing or two, right? With a return to campus, now that the COVID 19 restrictions have been lifted, these renovations and projects will make the envisaged aims a reality.  

South West Engineering Building  

The newly renovated SWE118 lecture room

In the South West Engineering building, two of the lecture halls (SWE 110 and SWE118) have been renovated. They are now fitted with more comfortable chairs, a better floor finish and new blinds which allow what is projected on the screen to be clearly visible even on the brightest day. 足球竞彩app排名s are not left in complete darkness, however, as there are lights on the wall which still provide adequate lighting, even with projections. Another big plus is that the halls have been designed such that even when students come in late for a lecture, the lecturer would not be disturbed. All of this supports better comfort, better concentration span, better class Interaction, better learning… and the list goes on. 

To support visual presentations in the classroom, the projector system now has additional technological features which enable different methods to stimulate interaction between the presenter and the audience. This system is not limited to lecturer use alone; students are encouraged to take some time to learn how to use these features as it will help them to prepare for their formal class presentation(s) of their projects/assignments.  

To cater to the increase of students, there are plans to relocate the School Tea Room (which is currently situated on the first floor of the South West Engineering Building) to an upper floor of the building. The remaining space can then be converted into an additional learning space. Wouldn't it be amazing to have more MIA classes within the MIA building? Think about it.

North West Engineering Building  

The main entrance of the North West Engineering Building has a really friendly (even if cold in temperature!) area that was made with the aim of supporting social interactions among members of the School. A number of students have also been spotted doing their school work in this area because of the Wi-Fi access and wall sockets. Even though there's nothing much that can be done with the cold temperatures of the area, there is a view that this cooler atmosphere can really encourage calmness and creativity while socializing or doing school work, (as suggested by a group of students who were completing their vac work on campus). This can also be of benefit during the warmer summer seasons as well – talk about every cloud and its silver lining!  

There are also opportunities to also add some life to the lonely-looking walls in this area, and there are talks of including some artwork in this space. The middle section of the frame will be fitted with a sort of waterfall screen which will show different colours and shapes. Indigenous plants will be hung in the area, which will also help with the poor ventilation in the area. The life of these plants will be ensured by encouraging those who use the space to participate in taking care of them.   

When you go up the stairs to the first floor of the building, you will be greeted by a cluster of the next set of lecture and discussion halls which have been upgraded. Whoever said that engineers do not like bright colours, must have got that so WRONG. Even in the rare case that some may protest, it cannot be denied that a touch of bright colour can encourage some creative thinking. That could be the reason that some of the discussion rooms in the building have been given some different colours, which range from pink, orange, blue and green, and black and white. In line with the University’s transformation policy, the room names are in some of the South African languages to celebrate the diversity within the school. The process of naming these venues was collaborative; the room names were chosen from students’ submissions. If you don't see your language on the names, don't despair; other rooms in the School might be named in future. For now, admire the beautiful colours of the rooms and try pronouncing the names.  

These rooms don't just have beautiful names and colours; they also have been fitted with some sound-dampening decorating art to reduce the noise since these rooms are in the same space as lecturer offices. Nonetheless, we are all still encouraged to keep reasonable volume levels.  The tables in the classrooms are also fitted with plug sockets; which is so convenient for students to use their technological gadgets in the rooms. 

Tshepo - a newly renovated venue in the North West Engineering Building

School Labs: 3D Printing and CNC laser machines 

Have you ever worked on a project and had all the CAD models ready – and the only thing missing was a prototype for the project? Well, this might just be the news that you have been looking for. The School has a number of 3D printers and CNC laser machines that students can use to gain some skills. This equipment can also be used to develop and produce working prototypes. Access to this equipment can be facilitated by speaking to a member of staff. 

In conclusion 

With classes going back to campus, we hope every MIA student will admire all the work being done to make them feel at home and help them enjoy interacting with their classmates and lecturers within these newly renovated spaces. We hope you are all excited to finally go back to contact classes and will get a chance to see all the above-mentioned projects.