Successful Joint £21M Bid for Institute of Technology

Apr 12 2019

New College Swindon, Swindon College and The University of Gloucestershire have been successful in their joint bid of £21m, to set up a Government-backed Institute of Technology, announced this week by Damian Hinds, Education Secretary.

Carole Kitching, Principal and CEO, New College Swindon said:

“New College is delighted to be an anchor partner in the development of Swindon's Institute of Technology. This is great news for Swindon and the wider region with the Institute set to become a beacon for higher level technical skills training and development, a real partnership of businesses with education providers".

IT and Technology has always been a core focus for New College and in the past year the college has seen some great achievement and progress. Last month, New College student, Dan Parker, was selected to design the official Digital School House esports tournament trophy, which was revealed at the grand finale in London this week.

Carole Kitching, Principal and CEO, New College Swindon commented:

“New College prides itself on being a centre for digital excellence, offering free access to a wide range of cutting-edge technology which is helping to transform teaching and learning. We give our learners every opportunity to achieve their full potential and prepare for a career in this ever-evolving digital landscape”.

In November 2018, the college was awarded Microsoft Showcase College status and is one of only twelve colleges in the country to have been awarded this prestigious title. A ‘Creative Learning Studio’ was also awarded to New College, by HP, last year. The studio is worth over £8000, and includes software and technology which has supported staff and students with multiple STEM projects.

As part of their current Higher Education offer, New College deliver a FdSc Cyber Security Foundation Degree, in partnership with the University of Gloucestershire. It is a two-year, full-time course and sessions are carried out in the brand-new cyber lab, within the dedicated HE Centre at New College Swindon.

Stephen Marston, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Gloucestershire, said:

“Winning the IoT for Swindon is brilliant news for students, businesses and the whole community. The University of Gloucestershire is delighted to be the anchor University for the Institute. Working with our partners, we are committed to delivering a step-change in the availability of high quality professional and technical education in advanced manufacturing and engineering, life sciences, digital technologies and creative media."

“This will be great for businesses, meeting their needs for higher level skills to drive future innovation and productivity. It will be great for students who can achieve valuable qualifications all the way through to undergraduate and Masters level, through apprenticeships or stand-alone programmes, giving them a great platform for developing their careers. And all delivered from state of the art new facilities in Swindon."

“The University of Gloucestershire recently announced a strategic investment in expanding the range of our engineering programmes. Today's announcement of the IoT means that, working with partners, we can greatly expand the availability of higher and degree apprenticeships and stand-alone degree programmes in STEM subjects to meet the needs of employers across Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire."

Steve Wain, Principal of Swindon College said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this news. I would like to congratulate and thank all those colleagues and anchor partners who worked so hard in supporting, preparing and delivering the applications as part of the bid and for making this such a success."

“We were in fierce competition with 130 Colleges at the start of the process and through the bid stages we progressed to the final interview stage and are one of only 12 winning groups."

“Today's news is incredibly positive. This is a significant development and the £21 million investment will allow us to train over 1000 students and apprentices in higher level STEM based subjects. The project is crucial in helping to support the vision and continued focus on developing opportunities and growth for Swindon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire."