{"id":81233,"date":"2017-10-27T14:01:54","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T12:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=81233"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:52","slug":"heres-what-the-guys-who-fix-things-during-your-lecture-really-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/10\/27\/heres-what-the-guys-who-fix-things-during-your-lecture-really-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s what the guys who fix things during your lecture really do"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Clemens Pronk, a member of the MSC for over 15 years, takes a call for assistence.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

It\u2019s a scenario every student has witnessed: a lecturer, looking befuddled, rotates back and forth between the projector and the screen. After toying with the technology for a number of moments, the lecturer realizes there\u2019s only one thing he can do to get the class up and running: call the Media Support Center, the 911 of emergency tech relief on campus. In a matter of moments, a man walks through the door, inspects the issue, and finds a fix for the problem.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u201cTechnology has completely changed our jobs. Now we can control almost every piece of technology remotely\u201d\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The motherboard<\/h3>

From somewhere within the depths of the Tinbergen building, the seven men that make up the Media Support Center (MSC) are monitoring and controlling nearly every piece of technology within the university, from the lighting within the lecture halls to the recording cameras mounted in the back. If they wanted to, they could see whether or not you\u2019re scrolling through Facebook during lectures.<\/p>\n

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Peter Hullegien and his colleagues looking into some lectures through the recording cameras.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cNo we\u2019re not Big Brother,\u201d said Peter Hullegien, who works as a coordinator within the MSC. \u201cWe\u2019re essentially responsible for keeping over three hundred lecture halls and tutorial classrooms running smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entering lecture halls and rebooting computers is just a fraction of what the media support staff do. In fact, working within the MSC looks more like operating the mission control center for the launch of a space shuttle, except that the staff seem more like a gang of old friends rather than NASA engineers.<\/p>\n

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Beside the Media Service Center is the staff's lounge. Care for a game of fussball anyone?<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

With a radio humming in the background, the tech-experts look over a dozen or so monitors displaying the remote management system, a network that communicates how each piece of technology is performing. This system not only allows them to see what\u2019s malfunctioning, but also warns them about issues before they occur. For example, if the light-bulb of a projector only has 40 hours of life left, the system will alert the staff to give them ample time to replace it.<\/p>\n

\u201cVroeger<\/em>, not that long ago, we would have to walk into each class one by one in the morning to manually switch everything on,\u201d Hullegien told over a coffee in the MSC\u2019s chic lounge.\u00a0\u201cTechnology has completely changed our jobs. Now we can control almost every piece of technology remotely.\u201d<\/p>\n

A typical day<\/h3>

When there\u2019s only ten minutes remaining in the hour, they can expect the phone to ring. That\u2019s when students are shuffling from class to class, and when lecturers usually run into problems as they set up their presentations. In most cases, the problems can be solved remotely, either by guiding the lecturer on the phone through the problem-solving process or by taking over the computer and solving it themselves. If it\u2019s a technical problem, like a broken microphone, then one of the staff will do things the old-fashioned way.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur policy is that when a lecturer calls us, we assist them by phone and if that doesn\u2019t solve the problem we will be there in under 10 minutes,\u201d said Hullegien. \u201cPreferably, we will have it solved in 10 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The control panel found on the front desk of each classroom and lecture hall can be controlled remotely by the MSC.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

To beat the 10-minute mark, the staff ride across campus on Holland\u2019s favorite piece of technology: The bicycle. A special black one with the word \u201cStoringsdienst\u201d (Breakdown Service) written on it is always parked in front of the Tinbergen building, most often finding use in the month of September.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when all the new lecturers and professors have their first classes, and they get nervous and sort-of panic when they forget how to use PowerPoint,\u201d explained Ramon Bovenlander, who is mostly in charge of long-term developments within the MSC.<\/p>\n

What's to come<\/h3>

Beyond maintenance, the MSC holds the consequential task of propelling the university further into the digital age. They kick-started Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) last year where professors record lectures in the university\u2019s new studio for online students, and they\u2019re recording more and more on-campus lectures to be published online. They\u2019re not, however, responsible for the Internet, so don\u2019t blame them when you can\u2019t access eduroam.<\/p>\n

Sharing the spotlight<\/h3>

At a university where technology has been adapted into every facet of its everyday operations, a day with the IT workers unveiled that they are the invisible hand that keeps everything running smoothly. And while most of their work goes on behind the scenes, that doesn\u2019t mean everything they do goes unnoticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes when I fix something in the Aula, the professor will tell the students to give me a round of applause,\u201d said Hullegien, grinning. \u201cThat makes me feel like an artist when I walk off stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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