Mission The University of Zaragoza is a public institution of research and higher education for the service of society, combining a tradition of almost five centuries of history as well as continuously updating its teaching methods. Its primary mission is to create and transmit knowledge for the purposes of student comprehensive training. Its university community is composed of more than 42,000 me...
Mission
The University of Zaragoza is a public institution of research and higher education for the service of society, combining a tradition of almost five centuries of history as well as continuously updating its teaching methods. Its primary mission is to create and transmit knowledge for the purposes of student comprehensive training. Its university community is composed of more than 42,000 members. In 2007, the Security Unit was created in order to provide all facilities with the necessary means to offer security both for the community and the various buildings and University assets.
Solution
The University of Zaragoza Security Unit, with advisory services from Deinta, an Axis partner, started installing IP video cameras in different locations for video surveillance and parking monitoring in areas controlled by the University, which are at the disposal of employees, teachers, students and suppliers.
Result
Surveillance cameras have now been installed in all university campuses, covering outdoor areas, accesses and common areas within buildings, and satisfaction level to date has been satisfactory. Progressively, and the budget permitting, new, state-of-the-art video services will be gradually implemented in all University buildings and facilities, as deemed necessary.
More than 35,000 students study at the University of Zaragoza, in addition to more than 3800 teachers and researchers and more than 2000 administration and service staff members. It is a quality institution at the service of society, which surpasses its Spanish counterparts in ways such as adapting to the European Space for Higher Education. Likewise, it is a reference point due to its prestige in research and quality of services. The University of Zaragoza is more than just teaching and research: it is culture, participation and more specifically, its commitment to knowledge and learning.
In 2011, its budget was increased to 273.9 million Euros. It currently offers 251 Diplomas: 54 Degrees, 52 Masters' Degrees, 46 Doctorate Programs and 99 Independent Studies. It is the only public university in Aragon, and its activities extend throughout the entire territory. It holds more than 70 buildings that cover more than 400,000 square meters. It has affiliated campuses and centers throughout Zaragoza (Zaragoza and Almunia), in Huesca (Canfranc, Jaca, Almudevar and Huesca) and in Teruel.
The University of Zaragoza, under the VP of Infrastructure, created the Security Unit in 2007. Although they had already undertaken a previous analog video surveillance project, ever since this Unit was installed, they unanimously opted for IP video. Among other considerations, the standards and characteristics it offers were key, such as flexibility, scalability and remote monitoring capabilities.
Video surveillance facilities include advisory services from Deinta, an Axis partner and one of the University's suppliers in the audiovisual, electronic security systemsand communications fields.
In general, the video surveillance systems supplement the work of security guards and are installed on roads, accesses, perimeter areas and other common areas around the buildings and campuses.
It is used to ensure the protection of students, teachers and administrative staff as well as to safeguard various buildings and materials stored within.
Interest in IP video from the University of Zaragoza for parking monitoring is quite high. The San Francisco campus includes an application based on the OCR system and Axis video codifiers that have been developed by Deinta with initial collaboration from the University of Zaragoza. This system directly reads license plates of vehicles that access the facilities. The system performs a search in the authorized vehicle database and if it identifies the vehicle as valid, it activates the gate automatically.
The Security Unit easily detects inappropriate behavior observed on the video surveillance systems and realizes that as they expand the system, reaching new locations, the number of incidents, including theft and vandalism, is reduced. The University Communications Zone creates video surveillance virtual networks that are Gigabit Ethernet- and fiber optic-based and are controlled by Red Iris (CSIC). It also has numerous interconnected control centers that allow monitoring through any camera in the system from various places.
When incidents arise, camera images help determine accountability of the events that have occurred and serve as a basis for possible legal actions against those who do not exhibit appropriate and responsible use of the university facilities.