Expansion 'flagship' at University of York wins cash backing
Posted on 9 May 2005
The new £38 million centre - codenamed Complex X - will pioneer closer collaboration between arts and sciences, reflecting the realignment of fields of study in an increasingly technological age.
The focal point of the first phase of the University's planned campus expansion at Heslington East, it will play a major role in widening participation in higher education in the region and will support the University's teaching and research alliances with other institutions.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has agreed a £12 million package from its Strategic Development Fund (SDF) towards the scheme.
The University's planning application for its £500 million campus extension, which won the backing of the City of York Council in March, may now go to public inquiry.
Complex X will house York's new Department of Theatre, Film and Television while the University's Department of Computer Science and the bulk of its Department of Electronics will also be relocated there. Alongside these will be a Higher York Creative Technologies Hub, a White Rose Grid Centre and a new research Centre for Complex Systems Analysis.
The new department will collaborate closely with the Department of Electronics, which already runs courses in media technology. There will be increasing research collaboration with the Department of Computer Science and a strong commitment to Lifelong Learning through the development of foundation degrees and multiple access routes to higher education.
Complex X is the academic focal point of the first phase of our expansion plans...it will create new and exciting intellectual partnerships in teaching and research
Professor Brian Cantor
A novel feature of Complex X will be a Creative Technologies Hub, which has been developed with staff at York St John College and York College as a teaching and research facility for use by the partners in Higher York, a joint initiative involving the city's four further and higher education institutions.
The Creative Technologies Hub will support innovative experimental work where technology is applied to arts areas and will involve Yorkshire's creative industries.
The White Rose Grid Centre, as part of a partnership with the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield, will research grid technology - a new generation of information transfer.
The inter-disciplinary research centre for Complex Systems Analysis will develop an area of study designated as crucial for Britain's future in the government's Science White Paper.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of York, Professor Brian Cantor, said: "Complex X is the academic focal point of the first phase of our expansion plans. We believe this decision signals an important endorsement by HEFCE of the University's overall strategy.
"Our proposals for Complex X are founded on collaboration both between departments and with other local and regional academic institutions. It will create new and exciting intellectual partnerships in teaching and research."
Professor Colin Mellors, Executive Director of Higher York, added: "This is tremendous news for the City and the region. It is significant that the University has chosen to incorporate a strong widening participation focus in its expansion plans. The city's four further and higher education institutions already work very closely in providing opportunities for those who might not otherwise have gone into higher education. This development will bring even more opportunities."
Notes to editors:
- The University of York's proposals for a 70-hectare extension of its campus at Heslington East were approved by the City of York Council on March 16. The expansion will increase student numbers by 50 per cent and is likely to create a total of a further 4,500 jobs. The Council's decision has been referred to the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber which may order a public inquiry.
- The University of York's new Department of Theatre, Film and Television will teach interdisciplinary degrees combining theoretical and applied skills with an arts and technology mix. Courses will integrate theatre, film and television, mixing theoretical study with practical and creative work. There will also be a strong element of entrepreneurship in the programme, aimed at empowering students to initiate and foster projects and operate as freelancers.
- Formed two years ago, Higher York is a partnership of York's four higher and further education institutions - Askham Bryan College, the University of York, York St John College, and York College - together with the City of York Council. It has recently received HEFCE funding as one of the UK's first three Lifelong Learning Networks.More information on the Higher Education Funding Council for England is available from Brian Best on 01179 317431 or at www.hefce.ac.uk