Artist impression showing the new building

A new engineering building within the Preston campus of the University of Central Lancashire has received a funding boost.

Investment of £20 million is being ploughed in by the university and they have revealed an extra £5 million has been secured.

Advertisements

The Engineering and Innovation Centre is to be built on the current Foster building car park near the Adelphi roundabout.

The additional funding comes from the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Rob Wallace, Dean of the School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences, commented: “We are delighted to receive the maximum amount of funding available from HEFCE as part of this scheme. Not only will it provide a great financial boost to the EIC project, it also confirms that UCLan’s educational vision for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) development is in-line with the government’s Industrial Strategy.

“The UCLan EIC will help plug an important skills gap, encourage inward investment and support the local and regional economy. It is an exciting and ambitious project and the extra funding will enable us to train the next generation of highly-skilled engineering leaders and support the delivery of the economic priorities set out by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.”

The building is due to open in January 2018.

Vince Cable, secretary of state for the department for Business, Innovation and Skills, said:

“Inspiring young people to take up STEM courses is vital to the success of the UK economy. This investment will mean world-class teaching facilities to build tomorrow’s skilled workforce.

“This investment will mean world-class teaching facilities to build tomorrow’s skilled workforce. It’s just one way we are ensuring the UK remains a world leader in science and research, as set out in this week’s Science and Innovation strategy.”

What do you think about the new building? Let us know in the comments below