Askham Bryan College in York set to benefit from £1,000,000 worth of funding
It's being provided the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership
Askham Bryan College has been given the green light for its new Digital Skills Academy.
The £1m project, funded by the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership through the government’s Getting Building Fund, will create an extension to the college’s existing Learning Resources Centre at the York campus. It will provide the college with a purpose-built environment to teach essential digital literacy skills to its students, enhanced digital skills to those already in industry settings, and to upskill and reskill the current land-based workforce in line with current emerging digital technologies. There will also be dedicated space within the new building for a mixed reality suite to enable the use of immersive technology within the College’s teaching, allowing students to access simulated environments that will provide a richer more expansive learning experience.
Dr Tim Whitaker, Principal and CEO of Askham Bryan College, said: “The creation of the Digital Skills Academy will be of significant benefit to the College’s students, staff and industry stakeholders, and will provide a dedicated space for digital and immersive teaching and learning. It will ensure the College becomes a leading provider of digital skills and literacy in the region. Sustainable food production and environmental conservation are undergoing a rapid digital revolution. This development will enhance the College’s curriculum and delivery of new skills enabling it to respond with flexibility and agility to these rapidly developing industries.”
The project also aims to provide a sustainable curriculum delivery for staff and students where learning materials can be accessed on site or remotely. Learning content will include everything from fundamental basics of digital technology to precision approaches in areas such as agriculture and animal management. The College hopes to work with partners to develop innovative digital content for its subjects.
The full £1m for the scheme was allocated by the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership from the Getting Building Fund. It is one of 10 schemes to benefit from a £15.4m Getting Building Fund pot for the Y&NY LEP area.
David Dickson, Chair of the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership Infrastructure & Joint Assets Board, said: “The region is working towards a greener, fairer, stronger economy, and this project certainly demonstrates those values. We’re pleased to support such an ambitious project which creates further skills provision for the area.”
The Digital Skills Academy design is by Evans McDowall Architects. The build will begin this spring with completion winter 2021.