A £23 million building dedicated to teaching and research in engineering is being built in Clifton by Nottingham Trent University, to enable graduates to deal with a ‘new industrial revolution’ in Britain.
The development at the university’s Clifton Campus is part of a new department of engineering, and has just been granted planning permission.
Courses in biomedical, electronic, sport and mechanical engineering are being been created to solve a shortage of skills in these sectors in the UK.
The facility, which will house these new courses, will also include the creation of a new ‘Institute of Industrial Digitalisation, Robotics and Automation’.
It aims to help build a highly-skilled workforce equipped to deal with changes in industrial manufacturing.
A move towards automation in manufacturing technologies is expected to have a major impact upon a range of UK industries in coming years, meaning engineering graduates will need different skills.
The new engineering building will include engineering laboratories, workshops and studios.
Part of the university’s School of Science and Technology, it is expected to be completed in time for the 2019-20 academic year.
“We want to create inspirational, state-of-the-art facilities that inspire staff and students and demonstrate our commitment to being a major player in the education of engineers,” said Professor Mary O’Neill, the Dean of Nottingham Trent University’s School of Science and Technology.
She added: “This development will facilitate a culture of innovation and excellence to support project-based, industry-focused learning and highly-rated research.
“The anticipated skills shortages represent a serious concern for major industries, and we want to play a lead role in training current and future workers with the digitalisation skills required for this arena, which is being called the next industrial revolution.”
Professor Neil Mansfield, Head of Engineering at Nottingham Trent University, added: “The UK needs a new generation of creative engineers to invent the future and that is what we aim to produce.”
Last year the university also unveiled a new £11 million Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Centre (ISTeC) at the Clifton Campus.
That facility, dedicated to teaching and research, brings ‘STEM’ – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – subjects together to support collaboration between different subject areas and between students and researchers.
