New £15m campus to boost city's enterprise
Ambitious plans for a new £15m economic development centre to promote employability, entrepreneurship and enterprise (e3) in North and West Belfast were announced today.
The e3 economic development building will be jointly funded by the Department for Employment and Learning, the International Fund for Ireland, and Belfast Metropolitan College.
The building which will be owned and operated by Belfast Metropolitan College will provide state-of-the-art facilities including: an animation and digital editing suite, TV and radio production studios, a hospitality training facility and manufacturing and engineering facilities for product innovation. The e3 building will be a model for the innovative use of new and emerging technologies with resources for the testing and demonstration of renewable energies.
The 5000 sq metre building will be located adjacent to Belfast Metropolitan College’s Millennium Community Outreach Centre on the Springfield Road and will accommodate up to 350 users per day, drawn from higher education students, school pupils, start up companies, local businesses and community organisations.
The aim of the project is to create a vibrant partnership between the College and businesses across the city and help to drive economic regeneration and stimulate enterprise. Activities delivered at the campus will underpin the needs of small to medium businesses in industry sectors which have been identified as having growth potential.
Construction of the building is expected to start In September and is scheduled to open in Spring 2012.
Commenting on the project the College’s Director and Chief Executive, Marie Thrse McGivern, said: “The e3 economic development building is an imaginative initiative designed to support the economic and social regeneration of North and West Belfast. An integral part of the project will be the delivery of industry-led live projects by student teams who will provide innovative solutions to practical and technical projects devised and driven by business.
“We cannot ignore the difficult economic situation which we face and it is important that people seeking employment have as wide a range of skills as possible. e3 will allow students to push their potential as they develop their ability to find solutions, work collaboratively, communicate effectively and set and achieve targets whilst accessing leading edge equipment and facilities.”
Welcoming the plans, Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, said the e3 project exemplified a multi-agency approach which was vital to addressing Northern Ireland’s skills gap and created an environment where business and education sectors could collaborate to meet the requirements of employer and employee alike.
Denis Rooney CBE, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland which contributed 5m to the project, said the new state-of-the-art building would have “very positive benefits’’on the north and west Belfast economy and also the wider Northern Ireland economy.
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Weather for Belfast
Monday 13 February 2012
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Temperature: 4 C to 9 C
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