New business school gets underway

The six-storey building will serve the University of Wolverhampton’s Business School, providing a combination of social and learning space for undergraduate, postgraduate and executive level education.

Interserve will be carrying out the construction of the building, which has been designed by architects Sheppard Robson, project managed by Gardiner & Theobald, with engineering services provided by Arup.

Yesterday saw the ground broken for the start of work on the £18m project at the University’s City Molineux Campus.

University staff were joined by Governors, directors of Interserve, members of the project team, Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Wolverhampton, Councillors Ian Brookfield and Paula Brookfield, City Councillor for Economic Regeneration Peter Bilson, MP’s Ian Austin and Adrian Bailey and business leaders as part of a ceremony to mark the occasion.

When complete, the new facility in Molineux Street will provide teaching and social learning space for The University of Wolverhampton Business School with the aim of adding to its growing reputation and engagement with the business community in the region.

Included in the proposed new building will be an executive education suite, innovative teaching and learning spaces, an IT suite, consulting rooms and a central social space and café.

It is scheduled to open its doors to students in 2015.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, Professor Geoff Layer, said: “The University of Wolverhampton Business School has been raising skills levels and teaching business education for more than 80 years.

“The new building is going to be state-of-the-art and will provide our students with a really wonderful learning experience. It will have areas to develop our research capacity and executive education, where we work with businesses to improve competitiveness and facilitate economic growth.

“It will be something to be very proud of.”

Trevor Freary, Interserve’s Commercial Director for Regional Building, said: “This building will make a very strong statement and we are really looking forward to working with the University to deliver a first class gateway to the campus.”

ENDS

(Top image from left to right) Dr Simon Walford (University Governor), Helen Wildman (University Registrar) Dr Anthea Gregory (Head of the Business School and Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences) Deputy Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Ian Brookfield, Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Geoff Layer, Trevor Freary, Interserve Commercial Director for Regional Building and Vince Kesterton, Interserve Contracts Manager.

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Date Issued: Friday 20 June 2014