At theUM, digital technology comes naturally
A “digital fountain” for Professors and students: this connected space lets you discover or propose innovative projects, all at your fingertips. It also helps strengthen the network of current and former students. It’s at theUM, and nowhere else…
It was officially inaugurated on Monday, January 23. But at the heart of (S)pace—a space for dining, socializing, and activities in the center of the Triolet campus—the digital fountain is already a well-known attraction among students at theUM.
The Digital Fountain? A connected space where people can gather around innovative touchscreen devices to foster co-creativity and imagination. Professors , and students can experiment, discover, and propose projects, apps, event activities, and more—all while having free access to digital tools that are usually restricted.
By and for students
The digital resource center offers its users a wide range of shared content: digital educational resources, as well as freely shared documents that are useful for their lives as students.
The primary goal of this new type of innovation hub is to encourage the development of digital applications or projects created entirely by students.
It thus helps highlight their work by providing a space to showcase their achievements, test projects that are in progress or nearing completion, and foster interaction among them.
Collaborative Tools
The Digital Fountain is more than just a place to meet and share ideas. It fosters the creation of digital projects by providing everyone with access to a team of experts to support projects, testing and demonstration equipment, a modular space, and a production workshop.
It is part of the overall policy for digital development aimed at serving students, particularly through its integration with university libraries. This is because La Fontaine also facilitates the development of collaborative work tools that are made freely available in university libraries, in line with the ongoing transformation of these libraries into Learning Centers.
Building Connections
A collaborative space and gathering place, the fountain helps break down barriers between the various disciplinary “communities” and foster connections among them. Open not only to the campus but also to the city and the world, the fountain is also designed to highlight students’ academic journeys and bring current and former students together. This initiative aligns with the university’s mission of professional integration and with the vision behind the creation of ResUM, the professional network of theUM.
Some examples of projects: a music video game; optimizing a geolocation app for internships for touchscreen use; mapping contemporary artworks at the University of Montpellier; a demonstration of the “Environmental Symphony” app; and more.
- Check out the digital fountain and its Pearltrees: fontaine-numerique.umontpellier.fr