The university developments transforming cities and towns across Wales
The Welsh Government has announced a £35m investment in an advanced engineering hub at Swansea University.
The investment, which includes £17.4m of EU funding, is intended to create a new centre of excellence at the university’s Bay Campus.
It’s just one of a number of investments that are transforming universities up and down Wales.
From innovation campuses to box villages, here are the university developments that are changing the shape of our towns and cities. Cardiff University Work has started on the next phase of Cardiff University’s £300m innovation campus.
The latest Maindy Park development features two centres of excellence – SPARK, the world’s first social science research park, and the Innovation Centre, a creative space for start-ups, spin-outs and partnerships.
Another building will be home to two scientific research establishments – the Institute for Compound Semiconductors and Cardiff Catalysis Institute.
Building work is due for completion in 2018, with official openings in 2019. Cardiff Metropolitan University Ambitious plans for a multi-million-pound new School of Technologies, with the aim of attracting 2,000 new students by 2024 aligned to the employment needs of south Wales’ growing tech sector, have been unveiled by Cardiff Metropolitan University.
The Cardiff School of Technologies would look to partner with technology-focused companies across the Cardiff Capital Region to support their growth plans with students who are “work ready” in areas such as data analytics, cyber security, mobile computing, artificial intelligence and data science.
It’s intended to be open for the 2020-21 academic year and would potentially also include the university’s existing School of Education, currently based at Cyncoed.
There would be accommodation for nearly 2,000 students, with numbers expected to reach that by 2024 – as well as 1,200 in the School of Education.
The university said discussions over a number of possible locations in Cardiff were continuing. This includes assessing sites at the Cardiff Waterside property scheme in Cardiff Bay, while Callaghan Square is also a strong candidate. Swansea University The new advanced engineering hub at Swansea University will include laboratory and office space as part of the College of Engineering and will support high-impact collaborative research with industry in groundbreaking science and technology aimed at developing business opportunities in the advanced engineering and materials sector.
It will include a metals technology centre, which will undertake research into metallurgy and materials science, supporting partnerships with the metals industry in Wales, the UK and worldwide.
The aim is to pioneer new alloys, materials and metal manufacturing processes which can be used in engineering.
Set to open in 2019, the hub will attract 65 new, highly-skilled academic posts and 155 experienced researchers. It will also provide opportunities for local supply chain businesses and jobs during the construction phase.
Swansea University is also investing £72m at its Singleton Park campus, on top of the £450m invested in the Bay campus. The investments are creating new world-class facilities and leading research expertise, helping to attract global companies and supporting the development of small to medium-sized enterprises and start-ups.
And the city is also being transformed with plans for new student accommodation, including a 21-storey tower at Marina Street. University of South Wales Wales’ biggest university has joined forces with a nearby FE college to develop a new £60m learning campus.
The University of South Wales (USW) and Coleg Gwent have formed a task force with Newport City Council to develop options for a new “Knowledge Quarter” in the heart of Newport.
The £60m development will be anchored at the university’s flagship