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Ranked as the best private university in Spain by Forbes magazine (June 5, 2023), and recognized among the top five Spanish universities producing successful entrepreneurs according to the Endeavor network, CUNEF University is a cutting-edge private institution. It has stood out in higher education for over 50 years thanks to its specialization, the excellence of its students, faculty, and researchers, and its high level of internationalization.
Officially recognized as a university in 2019, CUNEF’s academic journey began in 1973. Since then, over 15,000 professionals have been educated within its classrooms.
CUNEF University’s undergraduate and postgraduate programs respond to emerging challenges shaped by technology and a globalized market, in a context where continuous education and lifelong learning are essential.
The university operates from two campuses in Madrid—Almansa and Pirineos—located in the heart of the city’s academic district, Ciudad Universitaria. The newly inaugurated Almansa Campus is located in the José María Churruca business park, a complex spanning more than 178,000 m², designed by architect Kevin Roche. It has the capacity to host over 3,000 students and includes four unique buildings housing classrooms and flexible learning spaces equipped with the latest teaching technology. CUNEF University has created an ecosystem where pedagogy, technology, and environment promote active learning, supported by photovoltaic panels that enhance the energy self-sufficiency of the complex.
Following a successful initial deployment of Wi-Fi 6 and 10G switching infrastructure at its central campus, CUNEF University once again turned to EnGenius for the expansion and modernization of its network. This new phase introduced next-generation Wi-Fi 7 access points and a robust switching architecture, designed to support the growth of connected devices and meet the demands of academic, multimedia, and administrative traffic.
For this second phase, the IT department, led by CTO Mr. Javier Sánchez Hernández, decided to implement Wi-Fi 7 connectivity with the following equipment:
- 108 EnGenius ECW526 units: Wi-Fi 7 (BE19000) triradio access points designed for very high-density environments.
- 2 EnGenius ECW270 units (4x4): Outdoor Wi-Fi 6 access points with extended coverage and IP67 protection.
- 16 multi-gigabit and SFP+ aggregation switches.
This evolution not only improved connection speed but also latency, concurrency capacity, and spectral efficiency—essential for university environments with thousands of simultaneous device connections.
- Classrooms
- Common areas
- Multidisciplinary rooms
- Faculty offices
- Teachers’ rooms
- An assembly hall with capacity for 200 people
The adoption of Wi-Fi 7 at CUNEF University reinforces its commitment to delivering a top-quality, accessible, and sustainable digital experience. Through EnGenius Cloud, management of this new generation of access points is fully centralized and does not require physical servers, enabling agile, uninterrupted deployment. Native integration with Azure AD, customizable captive portals, and remote access via the Cloud To-Go app allow IT staff to maintain complete control of the network from anywhere, dynamically adapting to academic traffic and events. This translates into a smarter, more secure network aligned with the needs of a high-performance educational environment.
The entire network is centrally managed via EnGenius Cloud, with full integration with Azure AD and RADIUS systems for access control and advanced SSID segmentation.
Key features include:
- Real-time monitoring
- Proactive AI diagnostics
- Automated configuration via QR scan or serial code
- WPA3 security, dynamic VL
The expansion of the network at CUNEF University was carried out with a smooth transition thanks to EnGenius' cloud-managed architecture. All devices were pre-configured remotely and deployed using barcode scanning, with no on-site configuration required. The ECW526, a tri-radio Wi-Fi 7 access point BE19000, provides speeds of up to 18.8 Gbps combined, employing technologies such as Multi-Link Operation (MLO) and enhanced OFDMA, optimized for dense environments such as auditoriums or study rooms. Each unit is designed to handle hundreds of devices simultaneously, with minimal lag and maximum stability.
For their part, PoE++ and full-fiber 10G switches made it possible to structure a scalable and resilient network, with high-capacity links between buildings, classrooms and common areas. The entire ecosystem—wireless and wired—is managed from EnGenius Cloud, licensefree, with full visibility and unified control from a single console.
Managing dynamic traffic and user flows is one of the greatest challenges in university environments, given the constant movement of students, faculty, and events. With EnGenius Cloud, CUNEF University can adapt network performance in real time based on how each space is used.
Integration with identity services such as Azure AD, LDAP, Active Directory, Google LDAP, RadSec, or EduRoam, plus custom captive portal and voucherbased authentication, ensures secure, segmented access for students, faculty, and visitors. Furthermore, applying policies per SSID and controlling bandwidth per user or group ensures consistent quality, even during peak demand.
The IT team highly values the ability to preconfigure devices remotely, allowing instant adoption from the cloud and reducing deployment times to minutes, enabling highly efficient and scalable operations.
Mr. Javier Sánchez Hernández, CTO of CUNEF University and Mr. Samuel Argüello, Network Administrator, highlight:
“The addition of EnGenius Wi-Fi 7 technology to our campus has marked a turning point in the digital experience for our students and faculty. With its ability to handle high-density environments with minimal latency and extraordinary speeds, we have made a quantum leap in connectivity. This new infrastructure not only prepares CUNEF University for the technological challenges ahead but also positions us as a leader in digital transformation.”
“The implementation of EnGenius’s new Wi-Fi 7 wired and wireless systems gives us complete flexibility. Our technical team especially values the robustness and stability of this equipment in demanding environments such as the university sector. Moreover, unified management through EnGenius Cloud gives us full visibility and maximum operational confidence, even in high-density deployments.”
