State of the art Media Production Hub part of £670,000 investment in digital at Fife College

Fife College has invested over £250,000 in state-of-the-art digital and audio-visual equipment to create a sector-leading ‘Media Production Hub’.

Part of a total investment of over £670,000 in the College’s digital offering across the last year, the hub is ready for use by new and returning media students at the start of the new 2022/23 academic year this month.

Based at the College’s Glenrothes campus, the hub is equipped with the latest digital equipment, including new Apple Mac Studio Workstations as well as 4K cameras, high-end microphones, and industry-standard software.

The significant investment in digital is a key part of the College’s mission to accelerate the development of digital skills needed by the workforce of tomorrow across the region.

The new ‘Media Production Hub’ follows an investment of £150,000 in new cyber equipment and platforms to replicate the real-world experience for computing and digital students.

The improvements in the digital infrastructure included the purchase of equipment to allow access to real-life cyber threats and different operating systems, creating the highest quality learning environment.

The integration of real-life experience into the curriculum will provide learners with valuable experience with the latest software and intrusion detection systems, giving them the edge over other similarly qualified applicants when they enter the job market.

Other recent upgrade work to College’s digital offering includes a £170,000 investment in additional HP Enterprise Moonshot capacity, which has provided further high-performance Intel Xeon class workstations for use in computer networking, virtualisation and cybersecurity-related courses.

This additional capacity has also enabled the College to provide more home/remote access to high-end workstations for learners using Chromebooks, iPads and other lower-performance devices.

With various other improvement works also taking place in the computer games and graphics department, the total investment in upgrading the College’s digital facilities in all these areas has been over £670,000 across the last 12 months.

Stewart McDonald, Director of Faculty of Digital and Creative Industries, said:

“The investment in our digital offering over the past year highlights the College’s commitment to providing a dynamic digital environment for our students that is modern, flexible and accessible.

“Our new Media Production Hub gives students access to resources that are both ultra-high-quality and sector-leading, allowing us to deliver ‘live-projects’ in a new way.

“These ‘live projects’ will help students develop industry-standard skills, boost confidence in their vocational skillset, improve their entrepreneurial and employment prospects as well as make them better prepared for progression to further studies.

“For our cyber security and software development students, the new cyber equipment provides the highest-quality learning environment and emulates the type of environment they would encounter in a work setting.

“This enhanced learning & teaching experience will significantly improve employability prospects for those students too, equipping them with skills and real-world experience in identifying and managing cyber threats.”