September 2026 High-Profile Focus: Schools and Institutions 27
Built to Learn, Designed to Adapt: The Flexible Future of Hands-On Learning
By Abdullah Khaliqi
Hands-on learning has become an essential part of the academic experience, particularly in disciplines where students must translate classroom knowledge into real-world skills. For colleges and universities planning their next generation of teaching facilities, that shift has important implications: learning environments must support active, experiential education today while remaining adaptable to the needs of tomorrow.
Simulation labs are a prime example. Whether students are practicing clinical procedures, testing engineering concepts, or working through realistic scenarios, simulation spaces allow them to learn by doing, in a controlled environment. These facilities can support collaboration, problem solving, and repeated practice while giving faculty opportunities to observe, assess, and refine instruction.
Designing an effective simulation or hands-on learning environment requires looking beyond the equipment that
Modern CTE facilities create opportunities for applied learning, allowing students to develop practical skills in environments that mirror real-world workplaces.
Future-ready simulation spaces support hands-on learning today and academic innovation tomorrow. will occupy the room on opening day. Academic programs evolve, technology changes, class sizes fluctuate, and new
teaching methods emerge. A highly specialized space that works perfectly for one program today can quickly become a constraint if it cannot accommodate changes.
That’ s why flexibility needs to be considered from the outset, as part of both capital planning and facility design. Movable furnishings, adaptable infrastructure, modular equipment, accessible power and data, and spaces capable of supporting multiple configurations can extend the useful life of a facility while allowing institutions to respond to changing academic priorities.
For engineering teams, the challenge is to understand not only how a space needs to perform technically, but how students and faculty could use it. Early collaboration among facilities leaders, faculty, technology specialists, and design and engineering partners can uncover those needs before they become costly limitations.
The most successful learning environments are not simply designed for a particular program or piece of equipment. They are engineered to evolve alongside the education happening within them.
Abdullah Khaliqi, PE, CPQ, is principal and academic market leader at Fitzemeyer & Tocci Associates, Inc.
Flexible simulation rooms replicate realworld clinical environments, giving students opportunities to develop practical skills in settings that mirror patient care spaces.
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