Collegerama: The Go-To platform for students at TU Delft
As a new academic year begins, students at TU Delft aren’t just returning to lecture halls — they’re also heading to Collegerama, the university’s trusted platform for watching recorded lectures and preparing for exams. Whether you missed a class, want to revisit complex topics, or simply need extra practice before exams, Collegerama has become an indispensable part of student life. Students with a need for extra support can also benefit from watching recordings in their own pace.
The name itself reflects its purpose: “College” means lecture in Dutch, and “-rama” suggests a panorama or comprehensive view. In other words, Collegerama is like having a front-row seat to every class.
Behind the scenes
Since (2004) its early days, Collegerama has evolved to provide a rich media experience. Every lecture is captured with synchronized video, slides, smartboard content, and audio. Lectures are recorded using both fixed recorders in 20 lecture halls and 9 mobile trolleys operated by trained students. These trolleys include cameras with joystick controls to ensure the lecturer is properly framed and audio levels are correct. Collegerama uses off-the-shelf AV products, built into flightcases.
A growing number of lecture halls now use tracking cameras that automatically follow the lecturer. These have replaced the older, static wide-angle “security style” shots and make the recordings much more dynamic. The cameras can be adjusted for speed, movement zones, and exclusion areas, so they only follow the lecturer where needed. They’re ideal for hybrid teaching, helping both on-site and online students stay engaged. As the technology has become more affordable, tracking cameras are now a practical alternative to standard ones — although for big events, human operators still deliver the best results.
The scale of Collegerama is impressive: each year, the team handles 250 recording requests, producing 2800 recorded lectures, which are watched more than 1 million times annually. “We actually celebrated our 1 million views, when it happened for the first time”, – recalled Thijs Sanderse, Video Technician at NewMedia Centre.
Recording lectures is more than just pressing a button. The team coordinates with faculties to schedule recordings, make room adjustments, and troubleshoot technical issues. They also train student operators who manage the mobile equipment, ensuring audio and video quality meet the required standards.
Together with our AV-ICT colleagues, we’re continuously improving the quality and reliability of the recordings made in lecture halls with fixed recorders, and we’re excited about the potential our collaboration brings for the future of learning at TU Delft.
“From smart cameras to AI-powered captions, Collegerama transforms recorded lectures into a rich, accessible learning experience.”
Why Students Love It
“The beauty of Collegerama in Delft is that any student at TU Delft can watch all lecture recordings. So, if you’re an architecture student, you can also watch recordings from Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering, or any other faculty.
At most other universities, recordings are restricted to individual courses—meaning you can only access videos for the courses you’re enrolled in.”, says Thijs Sanderse.
Indeed, students consistently return to Collegerama because it:
- Provides flexibility, allowing learning at one’s own pace.
- Supports exam preparation, making it easier to revisit difficult topics.
- Expands learning opportunities, offering access to lectures beyond their own courses.
“Many students are revisiting Collegerama to review content and get ready for exams. There are students who rewatch a video, maybe six times,” explained Jos Vermeulen, Collegerama Coordinator.
Overview of the number of lectures viewed by students and lectures recorded by Collegerama
Collegerama and AI
Collegerama also embraces modern technology to enhance accessibility. For instance, AI-powered captioning has been introduced recently, providing automatically generated subtitles for lectures. This not only helps students with hearing difficulties or language barriers but also allows anyone to search and navigate content more efficiently.
Looking ahead, Collegerama aims to expand coverage and further integrate AI-driven solutions. “If we had recorders in every lecture hall and a system connected to AI, we could schedule recordings automatically based on the lecture roster,” – says Thijs Sanderse.
At its core, Collegerama is about making learning more accessible, flexible, and effective. By providing students with reliable, high-quality recordings of their lectures, it ensures that education doesn’t stop at the lecture hall door — and it gives everyone a comprehensive view of the academic panorama.
Author: Irina Tripapina
Coordinators: Jos Vermeulen, Thijs Sanderse & Dion Meijer
