One of the oldest colleges of pharmacy in the U.S., UC's The James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, is now among the most technologically advanced. Thursday afternoon the University of Cincinnati will showcase its newly redesigned Kowalewski Hall complete with a simulated hospital pharmacy and drugstore, interactive lecture hall and an in-house computer repair shop.
"This is the future of education," says Associate Dean Brad Hein as he shows off the 118,500 square foot building which had to be gutted inside when the $34 million modernization began.
Software engineer John Lawson started from scratch to equip the building with the latest technology. "We had to think outside the box about what we're used to working with in a classroom, the audio and visual components, so with the new classrooms we have team-based learning classrooms which have about twenty screens," he says.
Key Features
- Custom-built application called Skilluate integrating recording video sessions with online evaluations.
- Simulated hospital pharmacy and drugstore.
- Study areas including futuristic pods where students are nearly enclosed.
- Ability to connect student devices with class monitors.
- A computer repair shop.
The College of Pharmacy has plenty of study areas designed to keep students on campus and draw them from other parts of the medical campus. There's even a handy kitchen.
Biomedical engineering student Robert Ipach was in one of them. He says, "I think it's wonderful as a commuter to have access to a kitchen like this. It's something you don't get on main campus and I'm happy to see them here in this new building."
Ipach was sitting in a futuristic pod. The private partition contains a desk, chair and a light. Associate Dean Hein is proud the College of Pharmacy is out in front when it comes to technology.
"There is technology in terms of how students learn and there is also tech as part of the profession so any student that practices pharmacy is going to be working with technology and that's just beyond entering in the prescription into the computer and printing a label and putting it on a bottle." He says, "Hospitals have robots that need to be filled and checked periodically. Pharmacies have robots as well."
UC plans more team-based learning technology in other parts of campus.
