STUDENTS at Bradford College are to benefit from state-of-the-art facilities after a multi-million-pound investment from the government.

The Office for Students has announced Bradford College has been awarded £5.8m for the Garden Mills project from the Higher Education Capital Fund.

This will see the building on the college campus grounds transformed into flexible higher education STEM training and educational facilities for digital, science, and allied health subjects.

Bradford College is one of a hundred colleges and universities that have been awarded a share of £432m to invest over the next three years in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment and help level up more opportunities for people to gain the skills they need to progress.

The maximum amount on offer per provider was £5.8m, an allocation that only five colleges managed to secure, including Bradford College.

A further £57m has been awarded to 20 higher education providers for 2022/23, who specialise in areas including science, agriculture, business as well as creative and performing arts.

Chris Webb, CEO & Principal of Bradford College, said: “The Bradford College Garden Mills project is an exciting development that will create cutting-edge facilities for higher-level STEM teaching in one impressive five-storey building.

“Digital, science, and allied health professions will gain a flexible training environment to accommodate expected growth in the industry.

“Aligned with our vision ‘to create a better future for all through education and training,’ the sustainable regeneration project will work with specialist employers such as Specsavers to enhance the student experience, create aspirational graduate opportunities, and counter regional skills shortages.

“Our strategic objectives include delivering curriculum that meets the needs of students, employers, and our community, and providing an outstanding student experience.

“This ground-breaking opportunity to upskill Bradford in vital sector areas will support regional economic growth and goes hand-in-hand with our value of inspiring students.”

Garden Mills will enhance the College’s existing STEM science and digital facilities located in the David Hockney Building and Advanced Technology Centre (ATC).

The plans incorporate two new flexible science laboratories, a prep-room, six higher education digital IT labs, an ophthalmic dispensing suite, clinical suite, a real-life work environment with consulting/testing booths, and a collaboration space alongside academic teaching spaces.

Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “Investing in education and skills will unlock future growth, boost productivity and help build the skilled workforce of the future.

“That’s why we’re spending £490m to support high-quality teaching and world-class facilities in universities and colleges right across the country."

 

Have you got a story for us? Email newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk or contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletter to get updates sent straight to your inbox.

You can also call us on 01274 705292.