The University of Lincoln has completed a campus-wide AV transformation, deploying a Sennheiser ecosystem including 172 TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC 2) microphones across 80 seminar rooms, 12 lecture theatres and a range of boardrooms and professional services spaces, alongside TeamConnect Ceiling Medium (TCC M), SpeechLine Digital Wireless (SL DW) and MobileConnect solutions.
The university selected Sennheiser’s TeamConnect Ceiling Solutions following an evaluation of ceiling microphone technologies, citing the adaptive beamforming’s consistency in real-world teaching environments and prior experience with SL DW systems.
The university has made particular use of TruVoicelift, which allows lecturers to move freely and speak naturally without a handheld or body-worn microphone, and Advanced Exclusion Zones to help mask unwanted noise and address room acoustics.
Camera tracking has also been integrated into the system, with TCC 2 microphones in seminar rooms paired with Huddly cameras for automatic framing, while EVA camera systems in lecture theatres use microphone data to track speakers, with room control handled via Extron. MobileConnect has been deployed in four spaces to support accessibility, allowing students to connect using their own devices and headphones.
The initial design phase was completed in 2023, with the main rollout beginning in 2024, installed primarily by the university’s AV partner Pure AV, with recent additions completed by Snellings Business Systems.
Jason Ramsden, AV design lead and deputy AV manager at the University of Lincoln, said: “The idea was to design and enhance our rooms from a user perspective rather than a technological perspective. We have moved microphones into the infrastructure of the building, so lecturers don’t have to think about the setup or the use case.”
Ramsden added: “We’re using TruVoicelift in our larger lecture rooms and it feels really natural in those spaces. The exclusion zones are fantastic, especially when we look at the nature of our rooms acoustically.” Sennheiser Control Cockpit provides centralised monitoring across the deployment.
Caleb Connors, digital audio visual technology manager at the University of Lincoln, added: “We’ve had really strong support from both our integration partners and the manufacturers. Having a team that understands what you’re trying to achieve makes a huge difference when you’re rolling something out at this scale.” SL DW continues to be used in the university’s 12 lecture theatres, where handheld and bodypack microphones remain useful for academics needing additional control during discussion.
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