The construction of a brand-new teaching facility at Southampton Solent University has been touted as a benefit to the whole region, with colleges and universities working together to give greater opportunities to students.

On Thursday, January 9, Solent University gave a behind-the-scenes look at their £7m state-of-the-art South Coast Institute of Technology (IoT) facility, that’s set to open this summer and act as a workspace for around 2,000 new students each year in the areas of maritime, engineering, and digital.

Speaking to the Echo, Matt Johnson, director of the South Coast Institute of Technology at Solent University, said: “We haven’t got anywhere near enough young people coming through in the maritime, engineering and digital sectors and we need to really develop our facilities, so we’ve got those state-of-the-art facilities to develop those skills, experiences, and behaviours that employers are looking for.

“The IoT now works right the way from secondary school, where we talk to the children about how these are the careers within our region and then we encourage them onto these pathways which will take them through the local colleges and universities and into local businesses.

“This is all about the local story – living locally, studying locally, and working locally. I’m excited about today because this will be a really important facility and benefit the whole region.”

READ MORE: Solent University gets green light for £7m building refurbishment

Matt Johnson, director of the South Coast Institute of Technology at Solent University (Image: Matt Davey) The South Coast Institute of Technology was launched in November 2022 and comprises of two universities – Solent University and the University of Portsmouth.

Backed by more than £13m of government funding, the initiative also features the South Hampshire College Group, Brockenhurst College, Havant and South Downs College, and Isle of Wight College.

Matt added that for too long colleges and universities had been competing against each other but by working together they can meet the needs of the region, having been given the green light to start construction on the new building in August 2024.

He said: “We’ve not seen anything else like this before to this scale – particularly the scale of collaboration.

“I think that’s the key here – colleges and universities working together. For too long they’ve been competing against each other but to put aside that difference and work together to solve this talent pipeline problem by working collaboratively.

“That’s the strength of the IoT, working together. Our tagline is ‘building talent together,’ and that’s really what it’s about and meeting the needs of the region.”