Case Study: Keele University improves accessibility and inclusivity in science learning with ThingLink virtual labs

Keele University - Customer Case Study

Keele University, specifically the Keele Institute for Innovation and Teaching Excellence, faced challenges in providing accessible and inclusive hands-on laboratory experience for its science students. High costs, limited equipment availability, constrained lab space, and necessary health and safety supervision made it difficult for all students to gain essential instrument skills. To address this, the university partnered with vendor ThingLink to create virtual lab simulations.

Using ThingLink, lecturer Dr. Adam Jeffery created two interactive virtual lab resources simulating complex scientific instruments. The solution allowed students to explore and practice with the equipment at their own pace, anytime and anywhere. The results were extremely positive, with 96% of student feedback on one resource being positive and 100% of staff feedback being positive on both. ThingLink helped significantly improve accessibility and inclusivity, saved staff and student time, and provided a cost-effective, safe way for learners to build competence and confidence before entering a physical lab.

Keele University

Adam Jeffery

Lecturer in Forensic Geoscience