Newcastle College welcomes students to new £180,000 digital hub

Newcastle College is welcoming students into its newly opened Digital Hub where students can thrive on digitally focused courses. The College has welcomed 400 students on digital courses across all provision and has recently launched Go Reboot Plus in partnership with Sunderland Software City, a free-to-access digital training programme for unemployed adults living in North Tyneside.

The College has invested £180,000 in the specially built Digital Hub at the College’s main Rye Hill Campus, which offers a state-of-the-art teaching facility for Higher Education, upskilling and reskilling.

The North East has over 29,000 people working in IT and digital job roles contributing over £2bn to the region’s economy, with a target of 100,000 more and better jobs by 2024*. The College has launched a number of new courses to support students into this exciting sector. This includes the UK’s first BA (Hons) Creative Digital Design Degree Apprenticeship, designed in partnership with leading digital businesses and organisations including Digital Union, Sunderland Software City, Hedgehog Lab and the first and only Esports study programme in the North East in partnership with Newcastle United Foundation.

Andy Nicholson, Head of Digital Technologies at Newcastle College said: “Newcastle is the seventh fastest growing UK tech hub, and digital innovation increasingly cuts across all sectors and job roles. The Digital Hub will give our University Centre students the opportunity to advance their learning through the state-of-the-art facilities meaning they will be well equipped with the skills and knowledge to go out into tech related job roles.

As part of our wider STEM strategy, we’ve committed to producing 100 digital graduates annually by 2025, to support the local digital cluster. Our investment in the Digital Hub is part of our ongoing commitment to contribute to the digital skills challenges in the North East. With the Digital Hub, and ongoing investment into our digital curriculum, Newcastle College is creating a future workforce ready to embrace the opportunities available and support the region’s continued digital growth.”

Students who use the Digital Hub will have access to specialist equipment including high-specifically i7 gaming PCs to support skills development in areas such as games design, digital marketing, web design and cyber security.

For more information on available courses visit our website www.ncl-coll.ac.uk/subject-areas/computing