UA92 TO BUILD DIGITAL ACADEMY

University Academy 92 will welcome students to a world leading digital learning academy at its Old Trafford campus in just nine months, after winning £2m funding from the Office for Students announced today (Dec 17 2021).  

The Digital Academy will deliver enhanced and cutting-edge learning in an employer led, industry co-developed curriculum designed to prepare, educate and develop people of all backgrounds for a digital career. The £2m capital funding was won by UA92 in a bidding competition by the Office for Students in which 166 bids were made by higher education institutions across the UK.

“The funding will support the acceleration of the development of our state of the art, world class Digital Learning Academy by three years,” commented UA92 CEO Sara Prowse. “Our bid for these funds was built in response to partner and employer demand, and in partnership with key strategic regional and international partners. Together we have identified key digital skills gaps, we’re co-creating courses with business and world leading vendors, so we can both deliver a career ready digital workforce of graduates and digitally upskill employees across the region.”

The academy will be a digital ecosystem dedicated to digital learning and development, leadership and enterprise. It will include two specialist studios, a robotics lab, multiple flexible mobile digitally enabled learning studios and an immersive video environment. Fully accredited computer science degrees, degree apprenticeships and professional body certified short courses will include DevOps, Cloud, Linux, data science, cyber security, AR, VR and AI. The digital learning space will increase UA92’s capacity for digital students almost tenfold – from 65 to 634. The facilities will be also be available for students across media, sports and business disciplines.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham commented: “In Greater Manchester we have strong ambitions to be recognised as a world leading digital city-region. This exciting announcement from UA92 is important in enabling us to achieve this ambition.

“The new UA92 Digital Academy, which is set to be a talent centre of excellence, is an incredible opportunity for our city-region, helping to future-proof our digital talent pipeline and address the existing digital skills shortages ensuring the Greater Manchester digital sector continues to grow and flourish.”

Cllr Andrew Western, Trafford Council Leader and GMCA Lead for Digital, Work and Skills added: “Trafford Council has been a huge supporter of UA92 from its very early days and I am delighted that it has secured this funding. A facility like this will make a huge difference

towards improving the digital skills we have in Trafford and Greater Manchester. It will support digital learning, enterprise and leadership at UA92 and produce a much-needed pipeline of talent. 

“We see UA92 as an important part of our regeneration plans for the local area and are totally aligned with their vision to make Higher Education accessible to all.”

University Academy 92 (UA92) is a deliberately different higher education experience co-founded by Manchester United legends, the Class of 92, and academic pioneers, Lancaster University. Based in Old Trafford, Manchester, UA92 prepares its students for the world of work by offering industry-led courses that have character and personal development at the core. 

A pioneering first cohort of students will graduate in Summer 2022, with UA92 degrees accredited by Lancaster University – meaning students will graduate with a Lancaster University degree. 

UA92 offers a portfolio of courses across business, sport, media and computing disciplines, and includes undergraduate degrees, Certificates in Higher Education (Cert HE) and Access to Higher Education qualifications. Industry-leaders, including Microsoft and KPMG, have co-designed the curriculum to target the skills employers seek.

True to the spirit of the Class of 92, every UA92 qualification includes a focus on character and personal development with the purpose of developing cognitive, emotional and social intelligence; ensuring that UA92 graduates are both work and real-life ready.  Enhancing students’ employability further, the UA92 experience includes relevant sector placements, guest lectures and master classes. This distinctively different further education institution also offers students:

• Their own personal development coach
• A fixed AM or PM timetable which enables students to pursue work relevant to   study, hobbies or life commitments. 
• No end of year exams – Assessments that take place throughout the year. 
• Students are able to begin their studies in September, November, January or April.
• A focus on student mental health and wellbeing and a safe and inclusive campus.