Super-fast broadband for Cornwall
Friday, 01 October 2010
(2)The recent news that Cornwall is to become one of the best connected locations in the world as a result of a £132 million project to deliver super-fast broadband across the county, provides a powerful stimulus in terms of University College Falmouth's ambition to become the epicentre of the creative industries in the UK.
"Our graduates are the lifeblood of the creative industries, which are widely recognised as the fastest growing sector in the UK economy, and super-fast broadband will encourage even more of our talented creatives to remain in Cornwall and establish pioneering businesses," said UCF's Rector & Chief Executive, Professor Anne Carlisle. "UCF's planned Academy for Innovation & Research will also offer significant opportunities for businesses to develop new products and services focusing on the potential of emerging media technologies, next generation broadband and the future capabilities of e-commerce. These developments combine to provide Cornwall with a significant competitive advantage, not just in terms of the national perspective but also in a global context.
Ends
About University College Falmouth
UCF is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the right to award degrees in its own name. The University College has two campuses - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns and jointly manages with the University of Exeter).
UCF's merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008 created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Dance, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing. The Dartington-based courses have now relocated to an impressive, high-specification £19M Performance Centre at the Tremough Campus, which launches this October. The European Union's Regional Development Fund invested £12,266,667 in this development which will prepare performance students for success within the creative industries. The South West Regional Development Agency's Single Pot Fund contributed a further £3M, with the remainder being invested by the Higher Education Funding Council for England's Strategic Development Fund.
The Performance Centre is the latest phase in UCF's ambition to create a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2013/2014 that will be unrivalled in the South West.
UCF is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One and Convergence), the South West Regional Development Agency and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.
For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby Dip CIPR MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email: jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk
Media relations contact
Sally Grint - Communications & PR
Manager
University College Falmouth, Woodlane, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 4RH
Tel: 01326 255854
Mobile: 07780 565552
Email: sally.grint@falmouth.ac.uk
Copyright © 2011 University College Falmouth. All Rights Reserved.
