HBS developed unique hybrid spaces with leading-edge technology to provide a safe and engaging learning environment for students on campus and remote students across the globe.

“‘Hybrid learning’ can mean a lot of different things. For us, it meant enabling both in-person and remote students to participate simultaneously in case discussions,” explains Beth Clark, HBS’s deputy chief information officer.

The team used design thinking to conceive, iterate, and test ideas, and ultimately settled on two 4k cameras. One at the back of the room captured the professor and blackboards. Another at the front provided a wide-shot of both the in-person students and the remote students, who are arrayed on three 85” displays on the back wall.

During pilot testing, however, remote students still seemed too far away, hindering discussion and participation. The team devised a solution that even Zoom’s engineers hadn’t thought of: stitching together three separate Zoom rooms. Feeds from the in-person students’ laptops were combined with the faculty camera feed into a separate Zoom room. Using audio signal processors and video switchers, the team created logic to enlarge the video image of whichever student was speaking.

Remote students could now see their fellow classmates individually, watch the professor, raise their hands, and easily participate as if they were in the room, too. “This completely homegrown piece of the design is probably one of the most essential aspects of . . . [our] hybrid experience,” said Justin Fowler, an audiovisual design engineer at HBS.

In all, 21 hybrid classrooms came online last year. With physical distancing, each classroom could safely accommodate 25 people, so students alternated between attending in-person and remotely. About half of all MBA classes—more than 2,500 sessions—took place in the hybrid classrooms.

Although Caleb Bradford (MBA/MPP 2021) applauds how professors made remote-only classes as interactive and engaging as possible, he says the hybrid classrooms elevated the experience. “I immediately perk up in my seat and feel more attentive and alive,” he says. “I’m reminded of just how electrifying HBS classes are.”

Ted Berk, senior lecturer and the Barry and Teri Volpert Fellow, quickly came to appreciate the School’s efforts. “I feared that remote students would feel like spectators watching a movie of 25 people in a classroom,” he explains. “But having both in-person and remote students be able to seamlessly discuss the case together was great,” he says.

The engaging experience made possible by the hybrid classrooms was key to the School’s continuing ability to effectively deliver its distinctive first-year curriculum–providing students with the crucial core business skills, such as finance, leadership, and entrepreneurship, that are fundamental to an HBS education.

Even with the success of the hybrid classrooms, there was still an appetite among students to be together with their sections. So, as limits on gathering sizes were reduced, they were thrilled to be able to gather in person in Klarman Hall’s 1,000-seat auditorium. Each section was able to meet several times, whether for classes or to mark the end of the year with capstone activities.

While the School began returning to more normal operations this fall, the hybrid classrooms aren’t going away. “The opportunities presented by these unique HBS spaces for both academic and non-academic purposes are many,” explains Paul Healy, faculty chair of the Virtual Technology Task Force and the James R. Williston Professor of Business Administration.

“We’ll be able to bring in case protagonists and other guest speakers who might not otherwise be able to come to class for truly interactive discussions,” explains Healy. “Or accommodate students who still can’t return to campus for health, visa, or other reasons.” Other possible uses include section gatherings with alumni or remote reunion activities. “HBS is fortunate to have the resources to be able to invest in these classrooms and will make the most of them,” adds Healy.

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