Top 3 Campus Transformation developments coming to Staffs in Early 2022

Hi there,

I’m Claire and I work in the Communications Team at Staffordshire University, and I thought I’d share just a few of the exciting campus transformation projects that will soon be opening here at the University.

Over £60m has been invested on campus over the last few years so whether you’re looking to study at Staffs, visiting our campus on an upcoming open day or are a current student at the University, you’ll soon be able to access and explore some of our brand-new spaces – and there are more on the way! For now, though, check out my Top 3 picks of buildings you need to hear about on campus.

At NUMBER ONE, we’ve got The Catalyst – a university within a building – no really it has everything you’ll need as a student under one modern and digitally-enabled roof

Opening in the first half of 2022, The Catalyst is a brand new £40m development on our Leek Road site that has been built to be flexible and digitally enabled. There are lots of modern and student-focused spaces to explore throughout this four-storey building.

It has everything the modern-day student could ask for. You can eat and dine in the building from three new outlets in our food court from a grab and go café to a deli or more formal Bistro table service. The choice is yours. The Catalyst also has a large event space, so you’ll never be far from the most in-demand events and activities on campus.

But my favourite features are the variety of different student spaces you can select to work, socialise, or study in - especially on the second floor of the building. There’s everything from informal break out areas to hang with your mates, our webinar pods for that all-important group work and of course more private spaces for when you need to get your head down for an assignment or just need a quieter space to chat.

Then there’s the Learning Market and The Learning Lab which are two of our larger teaching spaces on this level. These areas will deliver lecture experiences like no other. These spaces come equipped with plenty of different seating arrangements – you can sit around plectrum tables, hop on a bar stool, or grab a sofa – the choice is yours. Each area also comes with display screens and plenty of breakaway areas to collaborate on group tasks. The Learning Market even has a super cool “in the round” auditorium-style seating. If you haven’t visited campus yet you’ll just have to take our word for it, it’s going to be a really modern and fun space to learn in.

You can also book many spaces in The Catalyst in advance (or on the day via room panels) so you can try them and see which one suits you best. The majority of spaces are kitted out with large touch screens which allow you to do everything from casting content to hosting conference calls. Some of the larger spaces also have ceiling microphones! So, rest assured that everything you need as a student is within this one building. You can even have your library books delivered to the ground floor click and collect area.

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You’ll also love the natural lighting throughout the building as well as amazing views of Stoke-on-Trent from the cityscape to our green campus spaces such as the river thanks to floor to ceiling windows. There’s also a neat feature spiral staircase that takes you all the way to the top floor which will make you never want to take the lift again.

This building really has it all which is why it’s our top pick of projects you need to check out. Why not check out our fly-through video series on YouTube to take a virtual tour of The Catalyst to see what all the fuss is about before you visit us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSgr9_mGHG0&t=51s

Looking to study our healthcare courses? Look no further than our brand-new Centre for Health Innovation in Stafford opening in early 2022. Our new home for simulation-based learning.

The Centre for Health Innovation, also known here at Staffs as CHI, is an exciting new development at our Stafford site. If you’re studying one of our healthcare courses, chances are you’ll be among the first intake to experience this brand new simmersive facility.

In case you were wondering, Simmersive refers to the way we teach our courses at CHI by using immersive, virtual, and augmented technologies. This means you will have the chance to learn in simulated real-world environments as part of your lectures and studies with us.

How does this work exactly we hear you say? Well, the software means spaces in CHI can be changed to anything from a nightclub to a railway station at the click of a button – sights, sounds and more. You can even have a lecture simulated as being on the International Space Station! Pretty cool right!?

The Centre is packed full of various sized rooms and scenarios which can be configured to deliver things like Emergency Department Simulation, Ward Simulation and Life-Like Simulation. There are also Debrief and Observation Areas, Flexible Teaching Spaces and a brand-new atrium area connecting the new facilities to the wider campus.

CHI also has a brand-new mannequin workshop and a diverse cast of mannequins reflecting the variety of different patients you’ll work with, in your career. Our patient mannequins allow you to practice clinical skills and techniques including the administration of medicines and injections. They’re true to life and can talk and breathe as well as be used to recreate real-world scenarios. My favourite mannequin is definitely the adorable CAE Luna!

All this kit is great preparation and confidence building for our nursing, paramedic and operating department practice students who go on to take these everyday experiences onto their placements and future careers in the sector.

Are you a student parent? Our family-friendly campus has got you covered with our brand-new Woodlands Day Nursery and Forest School (Stoke-on-Trent)

Need safe, friendly, and affordable childcare in a nurturing environment whilst you study? Look no further than our new £4.4m Woodlands Nursery and Forest School.

Located near our campus nature reserve, this new facility isn’t just your average nursery premises, it will also deliver a forest school education for your child/children.

What’s a forest school you might wonder? Well, forest schools take children out of the classroom and into the great outdoors. They’ll have opportunities to take part in activities that support play, exploration and risk-taking. It helps develop confidence and self-esteem through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting. Through the forest school, children will get the opportunity to be involved in things like identifying nature, play-based learning, den building, forest art and more.

There are four learning zones within the new facility but one of the best features of this new build is its sustainability features. This building will be the first on campus to be targeting zero-carbon upon completion.

If we get technical for a second, this means that the building has been designed to be as energy efficient as possible. This includes everything from the building materials used to the technologies adopted for heating, cooling, and ventilation. One of the things you might not know is that the roof of the building (like many others on campus, including The Catalyst!) has solar electricity panels, also known as photovoltaics (PV), which can capture the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity.

This facility will offer full day-care for children ages 0 to 5. It is open to all students, staff, and members of the local community with full and part-time sessions available. You can find out more about our nursery and apply for a place for your children here: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/about/facilities/nursery

And there you have it… a whistle-stop tour of some of the exciting new facilities and spaces that you’ll soon be able to explore at Staffordshire University. If you’re curious about what other projects we currently have underway, why not head to the University website campus transformation area to learn more