Herefordshire's pioneering new university project, the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) announced today that it has reached a landmark funding agreement to underwrite its rapid future growth.
A group of local donors, Regeneration Partners Herefordshire, has agreed a multi-year funding package which will put £5 million into the new university.
This sits alongside over £6 million of already-committed capital investment to build out and transform NMITE's main Blackfriars campus. The Stronger Towns Fund is providing £2.5 million, with a further £3.6 million from the Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust.
Separately, the NMITE board has appointed Jesse Norman as its new non-executive Chair, succeeding Terence Jagger.
Dr Norman, who is also the Member of Parliament for Hereford and South Herefordshire, has been very closely associated with the university project since before its foundation. A former academic, he has degrees from Oxford (MA) and UCL (MPhil, PhD), has taught philosophy at UCL, and has held fellowships at UCL, St Andrews and All Souls College, Oxford.
Commenting, Jesse Norman said: "NMITE is already showing that it can educate students at different life stages in hands-on engineering and technology to Bachelors and Masters level faster and more cost-effectively than any other university in the UK.
"Its first graduates are being snapped up by top quality national companies and organisations such as BAE Systems, Balfour Beatty, Kier Construction, AWE and the autonomous vehicle software company OXA, as well as terrific local firms here in Herefordshire.
"This new package of operational and capital investment will give NMITE the platform it needs for rapid future growth and transformational change to the nature of technical education in the UK."
James Newby, Chief Executive of NMITE, said. "Our distinctive approach combines the best technical and vocational approaches with high levels of academic rigour to deliver rapid transformational change for our students. This new investment means we can extend and accelerate NMITE’s growth still further, creating more opportunities for students and our community, as well as delivering the highly skilled workforce our county needs to thrive”.
"Jesse knows NMITE very well, and he will bring huge energy and focus to the position of Chair. We all very warmly welcome him to the role."
Discover more about NMITE’s journey and its innovative approach to education by visiting our About page.
