Students enrolled in the first ever Masters Degree in Architectural Management and Design (MAMD) at IE University in Madrid have reduced their paper consumption by 75% by working primarily on an interactive tablet. At the beginning of the course, all students were presented with a Toshiba Folio 100 and since January have been using the tablets to communicate with their professors, access practical cases and notes, operate multimedia applications, and send and receive emails.
A study undertaken by the university discovered that each student uses the 760g gadget for an average of 2.5hours per day as part of their course, following video conferences and accessing the institution’s online campus. The tablets will become particularly useful during the remote periods of the programme which will be undertaken online.
Juan Lago, director of the programme, explains: “We believe that we have a particular responsibility to respect the environment, both as individuals and as architects, and this initiative enables us to help reduce the consumption of natural resources as compared to traditional uses and methods.”
In a profession that relies heavily on the use of paper and pencil, it appears that the new generation is starting off on a new footing. This said, students have recommended that applications that enable CAD, DXF and 3DS files be included in future versions of the device, and a function whereby they could underline or add notes to texts they are working on.
