Creating a mobile computer lab for staff training

UC Berkeley's Operational Excellence initiative is a multi-year, multi-project approach to make operations more efficient so that the University may direct more resources away from administrative expenses and towards teaching and research in supporting the UC mission statement.[1] One such project to help with the overall goal of OE is the creation of a 10 seat mobile computing lab in response to the growing need of staff training for OE projects across the UC Berkeley campus. The mobile lab was originally created and managed in March 2012 by a single FTE-technician who had to dedicate a significant amount of time managing the logistics of a new mobile computer facility. The project was then transitioned to the Educational Technology Services-Computer Facilities and its staff of 70+ student employees in November 2012. The pairing allowed for a flexible, affordable solution, which focused on the staff training needs of the campus. This allowed for the Computer Facilities staff to offer lecture-style training sessions in a traditional computer lab environment, with the new option of a mobile lab setup for smaller staff training sessions held in a departmental meeting room or office space.