Royal visit marks opening of SMART Centre

A major investment which encompasses the latest equipment used in the country’s biggest industries, the SMART Centre will train students and apprentices across a broad range of disciplines. During the opening, Her Royal Highness toured the Centre and met Solent’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor James Knowles alongside students.

“The SMART Centre will play a key role in growing the region’s skilled workforce,” Professor Knowles says. “By working with industry, we have identified the skills employers need the most and delivered an innovative learning centre which will ensure the professionals of the future have those skills.

“The IoT is a partnership of universities, colleges and employers, and this next step in that relationship showcases how impactful working together in this way can be. It’s an honour to have welcomed The Princess Royal to Solent to see first-hand what collaboration of this kind can achieve, and we look forward to sharing the many success stories that will undoubtedly come from it.”

The SMART Centre is home to laboratories, and specialist workshops. This includes a materials testing lab, welding workshop, lathes and mills, and composite lab. It fully embodies Solent University’s practice-led approach to learning and teaching, ensuring students gain hands-on experience while they learn in areas such as applied mechanics, renewable energy and robotics.

The South Coast Institute of Technology is a partnership of two universities and four colleges* who work alongside employers to equip students with the knowledge and practical skills needed to become future leaders. Supported by more than £15m in funding from the Department for Education, the partnership, which is led by Southampton Solent University, serves today’s biggest industries, from maritime and engineering to digital.

Matt Johnson, Director of the Institute of Technology, says:

“The IoT is all about boosting the future success of students while underpinning the sustainability of industry. By investing in the SMART Centre, we’ve created a place where students can learn a huge range of bespoke skills which employers both want and need. The ripple effect of this is significant; supporting economic growth and enhancing social mobility across our entire region.”

Solent, through the South Coast Institute of Technology, and this latest investment, continues to meet the needs of many different students and provide an accessible pathway into employment. Breaking down barriers to further and higher education in this way, the IoT delivers a diversity of qualifications – from T Levels to degrees, apprenticeships to professional qualifications – serving a range of people, from school leavers to mature students.