A new £74million building where international students can live and learn at Newcastle University is nearing completion.

The INTO Newcastle Centre is set to open in September.  Around 800 students will benefit from excellent facilities including science laboratories, computer labs, lecture theatre and social areas. There will also be 537 brand-new, high quality student bedrooms situated nearby so students can study and live on campus in the heart of the city.

Newcastle University teamed up with INTO – which prepares international students for undergraduate and postgraduate study - in 2007. Since then, more than 4,000 students have studied at INTO Newcastle and carried on their education at the University. The students who come from 51 different countries enjoy theirtime in the city with a 94% student satisfaction rate.

There are around 6,000 undergraduates and postgraduates from 120 different countries currently studying in the city, contributing an estimated £70m annually to the local economy.

 Tony Stevenson, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Planning and Resources at Newcastle University said: “Our successful partnership with INTO is something we are very proud of. Soon, we will have a brand-new purpose-built building of the highest standard which will match the quality of the teaching and learning on offer. Our partnership means we benefit from the addition of students from all over the world on our campus, which makes our University a more vibrant place.”

 Kevin Conroy, Director of INTO Newcastle said: “The students who come to study with us at Newcastle really enjoy their time here. What we wanted was to give them a building that was designed to completely meet their needs. The new building does exactly that and will also provide what we consider some of the best student accommodation in the city so they can live and learn on campus in one of the best students cities in thecountry.”

Construction on the new building began in August 2010 and since then it has helped to boost the local economy. Building contractors Balfour Beatty have employed more than 2,000 workers in the construction of the new facility – 1,560 of whom were from the Newcastle area. Kevin Alden, project director, said: “Balfour Beatty are extremely proud to have had the opportunity to play their part in the creation of this new world class education facility together with high quality, citycentre student accommodation.”

The architects who designed the building, FaulknerBrown, are based in Killingworth and since the partnership with INTO began in 2007, 102 jobs have been created, with around a further 40 appointments expected as the new building opens.
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published on: 26 July 2012