New Barnsley College Digital Innovation Hub welcomes first students

The development is the product of a significant investment in the improvement of the College’s facilities and digital curriculum in line with Barnsley’s ‘TechTown Five Year Action Plan.’ This aims to create ‘More and Better Jobs’ and businesses by promoting the acquisition of digital skills, promoting digital entrepreneurship and using digital technology to transform existing businesses. These are all actions towards addressing the digital skills gap which threatens to cost the UK economy over £100billion in GDP growth.

Facilities within the SciTech Digital Innovation Hub will have a special focus on digital industries including cyber security, network technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality alongside software and programming. Industry-standard, high-spec technology available to students includes powerful PCs, network laboratories, software development studios, immersive rooms, cloud facilities, Microsoft and gaming studios plus smart, augmented reality and virtual reality technologies.

Yiannis Koursis, Principal and CEO at Barnsley College said:

“The Hub provides facilities to enable us to deliver an exciting new digital curriculum in response to the digital skills gap. Our young people are the key to addressing this and upskilling the current workforce is also a vital consideration for employers. We continue to work hard to promote that agenda too through apprenticeships and other professional training courses.

“Earlier this year we were delighted to receive grant funding from both the Department for Education and the LEP totalling £5m to support this £7m development. The Hub is central to the delivery of T Levels and for supporting our work addressing digital skills poverty across the region.”

The Hub houses a smart conference suite which can be hired by employers from the regional business community. This cutting-edge space has been designed to work as a Microsoft Teams room, providing a rich, high definition, video-enabled collaboration facility which is fitted with cutting-edge smart technologies and hardware.

James Muir, Chair of the Sheffield City Region LEP, said:

“This new hub will play a vital role in equipping young people in South Yorkshire with the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world.

“South Yorkshire has always been a hotbed for innovation and this investment will enable our young people to be pioneers of the digital industries. Developing a talented and committed workforce with the skills to deliver is crucial to our region’s economic renewal, and investing in technology will help us achieve a stronger, greener and fairer economy and society.”

By 2021 Government will have invested over £12 billion through the Local Growth Fund, allowing LEPs to use their local knowledge to get all areas of the country firing on all cylinders.

There are 38 LEPs covering the whole of England, which are investing LGF money in a wide range of projects including transport, skills, business support, broadband, innovation and flood defences.

To keep students and staff safe, Barnsley College has opened its campuses to some students with COVID-19-safe measures enforced in accordance with current government guidelines. These include blended learning (course content and resources delivered via a mix of online and face-to-face means), limited capacity on-campus, social distancing, one-way systems and strict hygiene and cleanliness routines and rules.