Enterprising ‘IT & Education Campus’ Launched in ISLE OF MAN
The Isle of Man has launched its enterprising IT & Education Campus, offering Isle of Man residents IT and business focussed higher education courses and giving them access to market leading technology employers on the Island.
The IT & Education Campus is a partnership between the University College Isle of Man (UCM), and International Centre for Technology Ltd (ICT), a private company headed by successful technology entrepreneur Philip Vermeulen, which bought the Nunnery site in January 2015. The campus will offer a truly integrated approach to education, enterprise and employment.
Located at the historic Nunnery site on the Isle of Man, the hub is designed to promote technology and enterprise skills on the Island, with UCM offering degree courses in Computer Science, Business Management and Finance & Accounting at the new campus. In 2017 UCM will offer an MSc in Computer Science and a BSC Hons in Cybersecurity. ICT Ltd will offer IT short courses and “bootcamps”, and “learn and earn” opportunities for students with local technology businesses.
Phillip Vermeulen from ICT said: “The Isle of Man has world leading IT infrastructure, and e-business now represents 25% of the Island’s GDP. By launching the IT & Education Campus, we are directly nurturing the continued growth of the sector and developing its future workforce. In the near-future, ICT has ambitions to expand the Nunnery site into a technology park where IT businesses can locate themselves enabling students at the Nunnery site to gain valuable real world experience and give IT companies access to a talent pool. A state of the art 250-seat multifunctional space for conferences and seminars is also planned. We believe UCM ‘s expertise in delivering educational programmes can be enhanced by being located within a technology park. This partnership is just the beginning of a very exciting project for the Island”.
Jo Pretty, Principal, UCM said: “The University College Isle of Man is committed to preparing students for the future and the Island’s future requires highly skilled and enterprising graduates, especially in the IT and business sectors . It connects the students we provide higher education courses and apprenticeships for, with the entrepreneurial hub that’s being established at the Nunnery site by the ICT. And it signifies our continued commitment to offering students exciting courses and practical experience, enabling them to continue studies where they grew up, and get employment in the Island’s thriving e-business sector. Our partnership with ICT will enable our students to gain additional professional qualifications and experience and allow them to contribute directly to Island businesses through real world research projects”.
UCM and ICT are also working together to ensure that students have opportunities for work placements in companies and locations off island – thus providing an important global experience for students, a type of Manx ERASMUS scheme.
The IT & Education Campus Isle of Man is yet another initiative that marks the Island’s development as a world-leading centre for technology. The Island has a robust broadband and telecoms infrastructure and unlimited power supply, five state of the art data centres and good IP treaties. It acts as a microcosm of the UK and other European countries, serving as a lucrative testing site and activate experimentation lab for new technologies.
There are nearly 200 e-businesses based on the Isle of Man. The technology ecosystem on the Island includes everything from world-leading public technology companies such as Manx Telecom, Pokerstars and Microgaming, to a fast-growth blockchain cluster. The Isle of Man Government supports the sector in a number of ways, including a £50m Enterprise Development Scheme which grants funding to technology start-ups.
Another example of this support is a partnership between Manx ICT Association and UCM Level 3 IT students who will have the opportunity to complete two-year apprenticeships during their studies, attaining a nationally recognised qualification in IT as well as a range of vendor qualifications, bespoke to the needs of their employer. The 16 local technology companies offering the apprenticeship schemes include Manx Telecom, Riva Financial Systems, PDMS and Plan.com. Other computing courses offer industry internships, but few offer this level of paid engagement with real employers, ensuring students are job-ready by the end of their studies.
