Whilst many might view having a £60 million three-year construction site on their doorstep as an unwelcome intrusion – for many of our students this is a fantastic opportunity to gain some unique learning experiences.

And these opportunities are not just limited to the more obvious fields like Architecture, Civil Engineering and Project Management. Such a complex project as The Big Build involves a number of major companies and a diverse range of professional disciplines and a huge and complex ‘living classroom’ that will evolve and change over time.

The University is working closely with those companies working on the project to identify a wide range of opportunities for students that tie in with their courses and expose them directly to professional practise.

These opportunities could include things like placements, internships, guest lecture series, work shadowing and the chance to work on live projects linked to the development. These projects could include everything from having hands-on access to technical specifications, legal contracts and engineering drawings to exposure to developing marketing plans and working on landscaping and interior design briefs.

All of the opportunities will be designed to add significant benefit to the learning experience of participating students.

As well as this there will be a number of opportunities throughout all phases of the development for students to get involved in capturing the story of the project through photography, film and news features.

Watch this space.