Case Study: Utrecht University achieves resilient campus-wide Wi‑Fi and secure smart‑campus services with HPE Aruba Networking

Smart digital learning environment at one of Europe’s oldest universities

Utrecht University, one of Europe’s oldest and leading research universities with about 35,000 students and 7,400 staff across some 90 buildings, needed a flawless, resilient network that eliminated single points of failure and could securely support diverse user profiles (students, researchers, visitors), eduroam and a growing hybrid learning and IoT estate.

The university deployed an Aruba/HPE solution — ~3,100 Aruba Unified Access Points (including Wi‑Fi 6), Mobility Controllers and Virtual Mobility Conductor, Aruba switches, HPE FlexFabric core, Aruba ClearPass (25,000 endpoints) and AirWave for management — to deliver campus‑wide coverage, role‑based secure access, and centralized visibility. The result is a scalable, future‑ready infrastructure that supported remote teaching during COVID, enables secure IoT onboarding and smart‑building services, and promises operational gains such as an estimated ~17% energy saving from switch upgrades.

Utrecht University

Peter Hasperhoven

Product Manager Networks