Renovation on the fourth floor of the Faculty of Information features group study hubs (photo by Noreen Ahmed-Ullah)
If you’ve ever flown first class in an executive pod, then you’ll appreciate the creature comforts behind the new study pods at U of T’s Faculty of Information.
A semi-enclosed space, comfy chair, movable desk, a foot stool to stretch your legs and your very own desk lamp and electrical outlet – what else could you possibly need?
“It’s perfect,” said Azel Mulagulova, a first-year master’s student in the faculty, which is also known as the iSchool. “There’s privacy. It’s very comfortable to work in and very efficient in the way it’s designed.”
The individual study pods are just part of the upgrades at the Faculty of Information’s Inforum, which occupies the fourth and fifth floors of the Bissell Building, and has been completely redesigned and refurbished.
Azel Mulagulova works on her readings in a study pod at the iSchool
The renovation includes group study spaces, more interactive labs for digital preservation and database research, a soundproof Skype room and an exhibition wall (which will be replaced annually) for students in the Museum Studies program to practice curatorial techniques and designing exhibit spaces.
The faculty includes 681 graduate students in both the Information Studies and Museum Studies programs. While the new spaces will be available 24 hours a day to students in the faculty, they’re also open to other students from across the university from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“The impetus for adding updated smart boards and computers, gathering spaces, classrooms – and an abundance of electrical outlets – was to transform [this space] into a collaborative, experiential and experimental space,” says Dean Wendy Duff. “By giving students and professors a diverse range of study spaces: individual study pods, small and large group study rooms, as well as labs and large seminar rooms, they can pursue further excellence in teaching, service, studies and research.”
Read full article here: https://www.utoronto.ca/news/new-look-u-t-s-faculty-information
