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Enabling effective education

Situated in the heart of the scenic Western Cape Winelands, Stellenbosch University is home to more than 24 000 students and 800 lecturers. From its humble beginnings in the 17th century, it has burgeoned to become recognised as one of the top four research universities in South Africa. As numbers swell, the safety and security of students, visitors and faculty becomes more challenging to administer without an effective surveillance system.

Stellenbosch University, after carefully looking at and considering various solutions, turned to Axis partner, Virtual Technical Consultants (VTC), to provide a dependable surveillance solution. An IP surveillance system was chosen because of its future proof technology and the fact that it would require less maintenance than an analogue system. VTC supplied and commissioned an array of Axis network cameras carefully chosen to provide maximum monitoring capability for each and every eventuality.

A university that is able to provide a secure environment in which to obtain an education is one that promotes learning without the anxiety associated with crime and delinquency. Stellenbosch University has experienced a decline in security-related incidents and an overall boost to the safety of campus occupants since the installation of the Axis surveillance solution. General behaviour also tends to show a marked improvement when monitoring is in place.

Longevity, a deciding factor

When it came to making a final decision with regard to the product that would spearhead the Stellenbosch University surveillance solution, a little camera installed 11 years ago could not be ignored.

AXIS 200, bearing the illustrious title of the world’s first network camera, was launched by Axis in 1996. The design enabled access to the cameras images from any Web browser, from anywhere in the world. Although the initial purpose of the AXIS 200 focused exclusively on monitoring, many other application possibilities soon became apparent.

“The AXIS 200 is still fully functional and the image quality is good,” remarks Hendrik Le Roux, IT manager responsible for card and monitor systems at Stellenbosch University, “we could not disregard the economic sense of installing a product that is capable of this type of endurance.”

Potent performance

The HDTV video quality of the AXIS P3344-VE Fixed Dome Network Camera and the AXIS P1344 Network Camera allow Stellenbosch University security personnel to obtain high quality images of incidents or activities at various locations such as the business school, the hostels, campus laboratories and the medical school.

The discreet, tamper-resistant AXIS P3301 Fixed Dome Network Camera, specially designed for exposed indoor environments such as universities, banks and airports is perfectly suited for the surveillance of the interior of the University.

“The Stellenbosch University security solution is continuously evolving. As we identify new threats to the site, whether internal or external, we are immediately able to take preventative action, be it in the form of additional network cameras or alternative deployment. The flexibility of an Axis system, in terms of expansion, allows us to make changes with very little inconvenience,” remarks Marius Pistorius, director of VTC.

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