Suffolk College Means Business - Ipswich Angle, March 2004

Knowledge works – that’s the message that comes through loud and clear when Suffolk College and local businesses get together.

With the widest range of learning opportunities in the county, Suffolk College has for four decades played a major part in providing commerce and industry with the skills for success through the education and training of students. But the manner and means of the support for business has changed and grown over the years to go far beyond the conventional notion of classroom provision.

The annual Further Education Reunion and Celebration are always a joyful demonstration of this partnership approach, and the event held at the end of last year was no exception. More than 50% of the awards were sponsored by employers, and many reinforced their involvement by making the presentation in person. This commitment comes from relationships that build through many different kinds of contact. Students from Creative Arts & Media, for example, get involved in a variety of commercial projects during their time at the College. Their latest assignment is to produce a video for the Haven Gateway Partnership Maritime & Logistics Skills Centre promoting the different career paths available to help employers attract the workforce needed by those expanding sectors.

Suffolk College’s Higher Education also has strong and constructive links with the business community, not least through the Suffolk Institute of Technology (SIT) and the self-funded research centre CREATE.

The SIT hosts a forum for an active group of local employers from a range of businesses with a common interest in technology-related issues. Also as part of its remit to transfer knowledge from the academic to the business community the SIT has developed a regular series of lectures covering commercial aspects of technology such as changes in legislation, latest developments, practical applications and best practice.

CREATE works closely with business in the area of course development, with particular reference to on-line delivery. This can take the form of bespoke content, as with the work carried out with a medical supplies company to produce specific courses on nursing subjects. Or it can cover the development and delivery of more universal topics such as health and safety, as was the case with the recently completed Learning Option in Suffolk project.

Whichever way you look at it, Suffolk College means business.