Richard Cochrane DoE Renewable Energy, Professor Mark Goodwin and Hugo Tilmouth, MEng Renewable Energy.

Community leaders attend opening of University of Exeter’s £1.2 million Master's Suite

The University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus marked the official opening of its new dedicated, state-of-the-art learning environment for Master's students with a special celebration.

Local dignitaries joined students and staff from the University to commemorate the opening of the new £1.2 million Master’s Suite.

The new facility is exclusively for the use of the more than 250 master’s students - 13 per cent of which are international students - conducting research on the Penryn Campus.

The innovative new suite is open twenty four hours a day and provides dedicated space for private study, group work and break-out conversations. It is supported by specialist IT programs and video conferencing. It also has bespoke seminar facilities, benefiting from the very latest audio visual technology.

The opening event was led by Professor Mark Goodwin, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Innovation and External Engagement) for the University of Exeter, who was joined by Colonel Edward Bolitho, Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall and member of the University’s Cornwall Advisory Panel, local mayors Cllr Val Dalley (Camborne), Cllr Henry Biscoe (Redruth), Cllr Grenville Chappel (Falmouth), and Cllr Mark Snowdon (Penryn), as well as County Councillor for Penryn West, Mary May and Kim Conchie, CEO at Cornwall Chamber of Commerce.

Speaking at the event Professor Goodwin, who is responsible for the University’s activities in Cornwall said, “This investment underlines our commitment to this campus, to Cornwall, and to our postgraduate students”.

He also talked about the University’s continued investment in other world-class facilities on the campus, such as the extension of the Science and Engineering Research Support Facility (SERSF) due to open in spring 2018. Professor Goodwin added: “Broad investment in new research, teaching and social facilities is important because we believe a degree from this University is a passport to successful and bright futures.”

Judy Hargadon OBE, chair of the University’s Cornwall Advisory Panel, thanked the students for complaining that the previous fitness centre was too small. In doing so, the University of Exeter built a new Sports Centre, which opened last October and is open to the public, thus freeing up space at the centre of campus for the new Master's Suite.

Work from current postgraduate students was displayed, with students on hand to discuss this with guests. Thomas Pownell, studying on the MSc Sustainable Development said, “The opening of a dedicated work space for masters students from a variety of disciplines brings many benefits. Having all the MSc students in one place means we have a dedicated space to work, and socialise. This is greatly appreciated as doing an MSc is challenging at times, and having fellow peers to speak to about ideas allows for discussion and the development of new ideas and alternative ways to confront an issue. The space itself is well laid out, looks very clean and is a great space for productivity.”

The University of Exeter has a range of Master’s programmes spanning disciplines based in Cornwall across humanities, science, technology, engineering and medicine, including the newly launched Mining Life Cycle degree.

Date: 27 March 2017