Work to start on new labs

CONSTRUCTION and infrastructure company Morgan Sindall has been appointed to build a new collaborative teaching laboratory at the University of Birmingham in Edgbaston.

The new two-storey building will facilitate the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects and will also enable collaborative training. It will feature laboratories for use by students along with a public space which will allow the university to showcase STEM subjects to a wider audience.

Work is due to begin in January and will be completed by 2019. It is part of a wider £300 million regeneration of the campus

Trevor Payne, director of estates at the University of Birmingham, said: “The collaborative teaching laboratory is a major project for the university as we continue to develop and enhance the teaching experience here.

“This building will enable us to work in new and different ways.

“Much of the equipment students use will be closer to what they will encounter in industry and we know that by learning in this new, state-of-the-art environment, we can train the very best graduates ready to integrate into professional teams.”

Morgan Sindall’s West Midlands director Richard Fielding added: “This is a hugely important building for the region’s premier higher educational establishment and we are very much looking forward to delivering the building.”