Learning Landscapes is a research project looking at the ways in which academics work with colleagues in Estates and other key stakeholders to develop and manage innovation in the design of teaching and learning spaces in Higher Education.

Academics are increasingly involved in the management of Higher Education  and yet the available guidance that seeks to  facilitate effective practice  does not fully address leadership, governance and management issues.  Efficient and effective practice in estate management tends to reflect the separation of academic issues. Publications dealing with the design of university spaces seek to promote links between academic expertise, the strategic mission of the university and estates development. However, there is very little research into existing models of  effective and efficient practice nor suggested pathways by which connections between academics and estates might be established . Much of the effective and efficient practice guidance focuses on traditional learning and teaching environments and tends to ignore the ways in which teaching and research spaces are being significantly redesigned.

The emergence of new learning landscapes requires much closer collaboration between academics and estates so these new spaces can consolidate and drive further innovation without losing the strengths of the traditional academic environment. This project explored new pathways and strategies which universities are using to link academic expertise to the process of quality and cost effective estate development in the redesigning the university for the twenty first century.

The research features a series of campus mapping profiles and case studies of particular innovative teaching and learning spaces in the participating universities. The research was carried out  by researchers from the University of Lincoln in collaboration with DEGW, a major international design company. These case studies have been used to develop a number of development tools  that can be utilised by  academics, estates professionals and other key stakeholders working in the HE sector.