Salford Uni takes MediaCity keys
SALFORD University was handed the keys to its new building at MediaCity in Salford yesterday.
The institution plans to run 39 courses, catering for 1,500 students, over four floors of the 11-storey, 103,000 sq ft Orange Building next to the BBC’s new facilities from next October.
At a tour of the new premises the university’s deputy vice chancellor Dr Adrian Graves suggested that ITV would be taking space in the same building, apparently confirming a move that has been surrounded by speculation for several years.
He said the fact that the university would be able to offer “education and training to our students cheek by jowel with major employers was a wonderful opportunity… we know we will have ITV in this very building now”.
A spokesperson for the university was quick to downplay the comments saying no deal has been done. ITV also insists that it is continuing to look at its options.
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Vice chancellor Prof Martin Hall told TheBusinessDesk the move would put the university in a stronger position as Government cuts begin to bite. He said: “We are going to see huge sectors of the world economy depending on digital solutions over the next 10-20 years. When our university started in the 1890s the leading discipline was chemical engineering. This positions us at the leading edge of future economic development.”
The move and fit-out is costing the university £20m. It has already received an £8m grant from the Higher Education Funding Council towards these costs.
The programme is being handled by Jon Corner, who also owns the Liverpool-based digital production company River Motion Group. He said: “We’ll have a campus that’s in sync with the cutting-edge needs of the media world.”
