BNU awarded £5.8m to develop health, computing and engineering facilities
Buckinghamshire New University has been awarded a capital funding grant of £5.8m from the Office for Students, to create a new engineering school; technology-enhanced allied health learning spaces; and industry-standard, high specification computing.
A new School of Engineering and the Built Environment at our High Wycombe Campus will be funded through a £1.5m grant, enabling the upgrade of obsolete workshops to meet net zero commitments and investment in equipment to support the teaching of new engineering programmes. This will facilitate a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, degree apprenticeships, and higher technical qualifications aimed at addressing local skills gaps and providing opportunities for lifelong learning with upskilling and reskilling of the engineering and construction workforce.
Supported by a £3.6m grant, the Health and Social Care hub and simulated practice facilities will create a technology-enhanced environment optimised for delivering innovative teaching on allied health programmes (AHP) and providing an excellent student experience. Following the successful delivery of two AHP programmes – Paramedic Science and Physiotherapy, the additional funding will further develop the University’s successful health portfolio.
BNU already has an established and popular offer in Games Design, Games Development, Cyber Security, Animation, Visual Effects, 3D Game Art, and Computer Science. The remaining OfS funding will see investment in industry standard, high-specification computing that will provide the processing power that animation and computing students need, and support concurrent teaching for postgraduate students on online courses.
Professor Nick Braisby, Vice-Chancellor, Buckinghamshire New University, said: “We’re delighted to receive support from the OfS for our ambitious plans to further improve our students’ experience in subjects which are key to closing skills gaps both locally and nationally.
“After recognising a gap in local engineering training provision through our strong connection with Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership, we are excited to be developing our eighth academic school, in Engineering and the Built Environment.”