Funders Converge to mark Milestone in New £17m Economic Development Campus in North West Belfast
style="text-align: left;">Minister for Employment and Learning, Danny Kennedy MLA; Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland, Dr Denis Rooney CBE; and Marie Therese McGivern, Director of Belfast Metropolitan College (BMC) today took part in a celebration event to mark a milestone in the development of the College’s new e-3 building which is set to open next year.
Funded by the Department for Employment and Learning, the International Fund for Ireland and Belfast Metropolitan College, the £17m building, which is on-schedule to open in Spring 2012, will provide a Centre for Employability, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise for the College.
This innovative building will provide the College with a dedicated facility to promote economic development and build 21st century skills for Belfast and the region.
It is planned that the new facility will accommodate up to 350 users per day, drawn from higher education students, school pupils, start-up companies, local businesses and community organisations. All student users will work on employer-led projects generated from local SMEs and social economy enterprises. This opportunity to gain real experience of tackling business challenges will develop employability skills and promote enterprise and entrepreneurship. Those who catch the enterprise bug and identify viable business ideas can then be supported to progress into e3’s business incubation and hatchery units.
Employment and Learning Minister, Danny Kennedy said: “This is a highly innovative facility which will provide unique curriculum and learning opportunities for Further and Higher Education in North and West Belfast.
“While the development and delivery of this project has been long in the making, and there have been disappointments along the way, it is nonetheless a magnificent achievement for Belfast Metropolitan College. In offering students access to 'real' industry projects it will enhance the employability of graduates entering the local, national and international labour markets.
“The pioneering industry-driven learning environment will help shape career pathways for young people, placing them in industrially relevant areas of education and training particularly in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - our STEM subjects.
“This development is part of a wider Further and Higher Education investment programme by my Department to ensure that the Northern Ireland workforce and economy has access to the highest standards of education. It provides an ideal setting in which the education and business sectors can cooperate in a mutually beneficial way.”
The Minister concluded: “In addition, this development and the College's other major capital project at Titanic Quarter have been a welcome boost to the construction industry in these difficult economic times, with the large scale investments that they bring with them."
Speaking at the event Dr Denis Rooney CBE, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland, which contributed £5m to the Project, said: “It would be difficult to overestimate the very positive benefits this state-of-the art building will have on the local North and West Belfast communities and the wider Northern Ireland economy.
“By creating a partnership between academia and business enterprise in this way we can further develop the skills base of our young people while helping to build a more vibrant private sector economy. By investing in our young people, they become our hope for a better and shared future – a future where we can all learn, live and work together
“The International Fund for Ireland is very keen to support projects which have the potential to deliver sustainable, long-term positive impacts long after the Fund ceases to exist and the e-3 building is a good example of our work in this area.”
BMC Director, Marie Therese McGivern, commented: “We are extremely grateful to have received the support of both DEL and IFI for this project. I believe that these opportunities to work directly for local business and industry form a key part of the experience that 21st century students need to ensure their future and support the NI economic agenda.
e3 creates a vibrant partnership between the College and businesses across the city and helps 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.”
The 5000 sq metre building is located adjacent to Belfast Metropolitan College’s Millennium Community Outreach Centre on the Springfield Road and is owned and operated by Belfast Metropolitan College.
Funded by the Department for Employment and Learning, the International Fund for Ireland and Belfast Metropolitan College, the £17m building, which is on-schedule to open in Spring 2012, will provide a Centre for Employability, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise for the College.
This innovative building will provide the College with a dedicated facility to promote economic development and build 21st century skills for Belfast and the region.
It is planned that the new facility will accommodate up to 350 users per day, drawn from higher education students, school pupils, start-up companies, local businesses and community organisations. All student users will work on employer-led projects generated from local SMEs and social economy enterprises. This opportunity to gain real experience of tackling business challenges will develop employability skills and promote enterprise and entrepreneurship. Those who catch the enterprise bug and identify viable business ideas can then be supported to progress into e3’s business incubation and hatchery units.
Employment and Learning Minister, Danny Kennedy said: “This is a highly innovative facility which will provide unique curriculum and learning opportunities for Further and Higher Education in North and West Belfast.
“While the development and delivery of this project has been long in the making, and there have been disappointments along the way, it is nonetheless a magnificent achievement for Belfast Metropolitan College. In offering students access to 'real' industry projects it will enhance the employability of graduates entering the local, national and international labour markets.
“The pioneering industry-driven learning environment will help shape career pathways for young people, placing them in industrially relevant areas of education and training particularly in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - our STEM subjects.
“This development is part of a wider Further and Higher Education investment programme by my Department to ensure that the Northern Ireland workforce and economy has access to the highest standards of education. It provides an ideal setting in which the education and business sectors can cooperate in a mutually beneficial way.”
The Minister concluded: “In addition, this development and the College's other major capital project at Titanic Quarter have been a welcome boost to the construction industry in these difficult economic times, with the large scale investments that they bring with them."
Speaking at the event Dr Denis Rooney CBE, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland, which contributed £5m to the Project, said: “It would be difficult to overestimate the very positive benefits this state-of-the art building will have on the local North and West Belfast communities and the wider Northern Ireland economy.
“By creating a partnership between academia and business enterprise in this way we can further develop the skills base of our young people while helping to build a more vibrant private sector economy. By investing in our young people, they become our hope for a better and shared future – a future where we can all learn, live and work together
“The International Fund for Ireland is very keen to support projects which have the potential to deliver sustainable, long-term positive impacts long after the Fund ceases to exist and the e-3 building is a good example of our work in this area.”
BMC Director, Marie Therese McGivern, commented: “We are extremely grateful to have received the support of both DEL and IFI for this project. I believe that these opportunities to work directly for local business and industry form a key part of the experience that 21st century students need to ensure their future and support the NI economic agenda.
e3 creates a vibrant partnership between the College and businesses across the city and helps 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.”
The 5000 sq metre building is located adjacent to Belfast Metropolitan College’s Millennium Community Outreach Centre on the Springfield Road and is owned and operated by Belfast Metropolitan College.
