Business leaders hail £8.5m technology centre
Business leaders have hailed the new £8.5 million Exeter College Technology Centre as yet another example of how the city is moving forwards.
Derek Phillips, vice-chairman of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “This college facility is a great asset for the city and should make science and engineering more popular with students, which is great. It’s what we need for the future and it’s a very good development.
“The striking design will appeal to many new students and it’s great news for Exeter.”
He was speaking as more than 100 members of the Chamber’s Exeter Initiative for Science and Technology group, EXIST, were today (10/10/12) given a guided tour of the recently opened premises on Ambassador Drive, Monkerton, by the college’s assistant principal Iain Hatt.
Mr Hatt said: “The response from the business community has been fantastic. I’m really pleased to see so many people here and it’s fantastic to hear the positive feedback on how we put the building together and the structure and the investment we have made. It’s very exciting for the future.
“Throughout the process business has been very supportive, from early talks with employers about moving here to the design concepts, and to see all these employers here today has been excellent.”
The new, purpose built campus replaces former college premises on Marsh Barton, one of which has been sold and the other leased to a new occupier.
The technology centre is designed to be a state-of-the-art teaching facility for the engineering, aerospace and automotive sectors.
Chamber director Chris Lorimer said: “This technology centre is fantastic, it’s right on the edge of the growth point, it’s very well situated, it’s going to see students flooding down the M5, flooding in from across the Westcountry, and here they can do all sorts of vocational skills development, skills which are going to be critical for this area’s success.
“It’s yet another example of success in the area on a number of fronts: educational; businesswise; in enterprise and innovation, so I’m delighted to be here.”
Chamber members also heard from a number of speakers in the area of technical innovation, including Nick Ames of Dunkeswell’s Supacat, who spoke on the work of the Local Enterprise Partnership; David Pike, managing director of printed circuit board manufacturer Graphic Plc of Crediton, and Lewis Jones of South West Water.
