University of Sussex embarks on a smart, connected, sustainable campus

“Student needs have changed and the university has grown organically,” says Iain McCracken, assistant director, IT infrastructure, at University of Sussex. “The network infrastructure wasn’t delivering the digital experiences that students and staff needed at a research-intensive university.”

The university set out to build an all-new, secure, stable, and scalable network. It also wanted a technology partner that shared its sustainability ethos, as Sussex aims to become one of the world’s most sustainable universities. It planned to score sustainability in parallel to cost in its competitive evaluation for the first time.

IT leadership viewed the network as more than just connectivity, but as the foundation to provide an engaging experience, support smart campus operations, and foster a sense of safety.  

“We wanted to build on baseline network capabilities to bring the campus to life in a way that was centered around the student experience,” he says. “We wanted the network to deliver an outcome for our student population that far exceeds what we’re currently doing today and takes us into the future.”

Sussex’s network replacement team is hard at work installing 300 kilometers of new fiber, upgrading more than 200 IT equipment rooms, and connecting thousands of new network devices across campus. Project completion is planned for 2025.

With a Juniper AI-Native Network that can adapt to the university’s changing needs, Sussex expects outcomes to include an improved student experience, enhanced security for all users, increased business continuity, and the ability to support the growing connectivity needs of the research community.

McCracken anticipates that the insights and automation delivered by Mist AI will reduce routine network maintenance tasks, shrink network-related service desk tickets, and provide a foundation for automating network service delivery.

“We are using the shift-left methodology to move network infrastructure support to down our frontline teams, which will free up our third-line teams to use the data from Mist AI to deliver innovation into the university,” says McCracken.

The University of Sussex, one of the leading research universities in the world, is investing in its vision of being “a better university for a better world.” Sussex is creating a smart, connected campus with Juniper Mist AI-Native Networking to improve students’ digital experiences and support the university’s growing research needs.