ECS students set to get multimillion pound state-of-the-art labs

A multimillion pound refurbishment of the University of Southampton’s Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) laboratories will ensure future students will be using the latest technology and state-of-the-art facilities to support their degree programmes.

The £4m investment, funded by the University and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), will see the undergraduate and MSc labs for computing and for electrical and electronic engineering completely overhauled and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

A new 300m² project lab has been created for senior undergraduate and MSc students, and recently opened for the start of the summer term. Over the summer the existing labs in the Zepler building will be refurbished, expanded and re-equipped.

Professor Neil White, Head of ECS, said: “We are very excited to be creating a state-of-the-art facility for our current and future students. We are proud that we already have excellent facilities available to our students and this new work will ensure that these facilities remain up-to-date and in line with future industry requirements.

“Together with the HEFCE we are committed to increasing the flow of highly employable graduates into industry. We already have one of the best records for graduate employability in the UK but are determined to improve this still further.”

Professor Nick Jennings, forthcoming Head of Electronics and Computer Science adds: “Our new flexible facility will prepare students for industries of the future. The three laboratories will significantly increase capacity and enhance capability. A further £1.5m will be invested in advanced test, design build and computing equipment to support our broad range of degree programmes in Electronics and Computer Science."

The refurbishment work is set to take three months to complete and is scheduled to be ready for the start of the new autumn term. The work has been planned to cause minimal disruption for current students. The revamp will be carried out over the summer when most students are away from campus and the project is staged to allow MSc students access to the project lab over the holidays.