Education Minister visits Swansea University’s new £450 million Bay Campus

Education Minister, Huw Lewis, today (Monday 22 February 2016) visited Swansea University’s new £450m science and innovation Bay Campus to see at first-hand how the development has benefited from European and Welsh Government funding. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

‌The magnificent new 65 acre Bay Campus, which opened in September 2015 and is home to the College of Engineering and School of Management, received significant funding from the Welsh Government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Bay Campus development has been widely recognised as one of Europe’s leading knowledge economy projects, and development work will continue until 2020. After being welcomed by the University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Richard B. Davies, and Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Iwan Davies, the Minister was given a tour of the campus, which included: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

• The Energy Saving Research Institute, which, supported by industry sponsors, concentrates the College of Engineering’s strength in the energy sector.
• Engineering Central, which forms part of the College of Engineering and focuses on advanced engineering and manufacturing.
• The state-of-the-art Bay Library.
• The Great Hall, and its 700 seat auditorium.

The Education Minister, said: “The new Bay Campus is an inspiring place to study and to undertake research, offering excellent facilities. It’s a landmark EU and Welsh Government investment into education, research and innovation which is contributing to the economic development of the Swansea region.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Professor Iwan Davies, Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor, added: “We’re delighted to welcome the Education Minister here today to show him how the Bay Campus has benefitted from European and Welsh Government funding. Our advanced buildings and state-of-the-art research facilities continue to expand and provide new student opportunities, meet society and industry needs for world-leading research, and drive economic growth in the Swansea Bay region and beyond. This is a world-class learning environment that will attract and develop the best students from across the globe for years to come.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Pictured – left to right: Professor Iwan Davies, Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor; Huw Lewis AM; David Rees AM, Assembly Member for Aberavon; Professor Richard B. Davies, Vice Chancellor. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​