University campuses – smarter higher education communities

University campuses are preparing for a future that continues to evolve fast. How can they adapt to students' rapidly changing needs? How can they incorporate new models for remote learning while remaining a hub for academic interaction? Digital technologies help make universities attractive, smart places where people love to work, live, and learn.
The digital transformation of the university campus
Today’s universities must adapt to the needs of a constantly evolving, increasingly digital context. But the traditional brick and mortar campus still plays a vital role in higher education. Smart, digitally driven technologies help to create unique, environmentally friendly university campuses – places that respond to the needs of students and faculty, provide safe places to learn, teach, and innovate, and enable universities to succeed in international competition.Adaptable communities to balance all demands
We leverage our long-standing experience in managing and integrating complex projects, along with profound expertise in the fields of energy, building technology, digitalization, and even financing to support the entire lifecycle of a campus. Our smart infrastructure solutions enable universities to create campuses that offer excellent academic research, study, and on-campus living conditions while meeting demanding environmental requirements.
Flexible, open, and scalable digital solutions for campuses
On the path to greater sustainability and net zero as well as to the resilience urgently needed in view of the consequences of climate change, our comprehensive range of digital technologies are a powerful accelerator for university campuses of any size. At the same time, our adaptable and scalable solutions enable greater cost-efficiency, streamlined management and planning of space utilization and people flows, more sustainable, people-centric transportation solutions, and better academic life. In addition, universities can benefit from the available data and connectivity in research, teaching, and learning, for example, to develop and test new building and energy management technologies.
Today’s faculty and students expect a university campus to be a learning, working, and living ecosystem that intelligently adapts to their requirements. This involves the comprehensive linking of devices, applications, infrastructure, and people.
Digitally supported solutions make it possible to create attractive spaces for research, teaching, and university life, while at the same time making the operation of the entire campus more efficient in every respect: from optimizing space utilization to noticeable energy savings and all the way to simplifying numerous maintenance, administrative, and planning tasks.
Find out how our cost-efficient solutions help universities meet today’s challenges and thrive in the increasingly competitive knowledge economy.
Comfortable space and perfect conditions for learning and living, as well as safety and security and excellent accessibility are important distinguishing factors for today’s university campuses.
The comprehensive use of digitalization, automation, and the IoT in building and campus management make it possible to deliver the high degree of comfort today’s students are demanding. Rooms and spaces can be optimally heated, cooled, and air-conditioned. Students can be digitally connected to educational materials, each other, and their teachers. Even under difficult conditions such as a pandemic, university operations can be maintained reliably and without any risk to students and faculty.
Discover how scalable, open, and flexible solutions open up numerous possibilities to improve both the students' educational journey and the public perception of a university campus.
Universities often play a pioneering role and are expected to lead the way in important transformations. This is also true when it comes to sustainability and climate protection: The completely decarbonized campus is becoming a goal for more and more universities around the world, not least because this can significantly reduce operating costs in the long term.
The key to achieving this goal even in the case of a university campus that most likely comprises a number of time-honored buildings is the combination of state-of-the-art building technologies, smart energy management, advanced analytics, and the on-site use of renewable energy sources. In this way it becomes possible to optimize the entire energy system of the campus and to constantly acquire new knowledge from collected data to gain additional energy efficiency improvements and savings potential.
Discover how Siemens can help you understand and optimize your campus’s energy system and eventually turn it into a net-zero campus.

Morgan State University partners with Siemens on its journey to a smart campus
“In our strategic plan we set a deliberate goal of improving campus-wide infrastructure to support operational excellence and increase overall institutional capacity. One of the ways in which this can be accomplished is through strategic investment in our campus facilities,” says David Wilson, Ed.D., president of Morgan State University.
Technology to transform the everyday
From planning to construction and all the way to operation, we help universities to make their buildings smarter, tap into renewable energy, and use all resources sustainably and efficiently. Click on the portfolio elements below to see how we can help you create and operate a university campus that isn’t only ready for the future of higher education but also sets the pace.University campuses that drive change and innovation
Universities and other educational institutions around the globe have already started to create efficient communities of educational value with a lesser environmental footprint. Discover various approaches and their benefits.References
Stories and insights
Learn more about smart urban communities
Whether for educational institutions, for districts and cities, for industrial enterprises, or in mixed-use settings: Smart urban communities improve the life and work of people. They benefit communities, businesses, and the environment in many ways. Discover how we are harnessing technology and our expertise to create digitally supported, agile, sustainable communities – one smart urban community at a time.