EDUCATION TRAINING NEWS

INTERNATIONAL SKILLS ACCOLADE

A Cornwall-based college tutor has been honoured by a European skills body for making an outstanding contribution to education in the UK.

Greg Houghton, curriculum area manager for sport and military at Duchy College Stoke Climsland, was recognised for ‘outstanding contribution to raising standards in skills and training’ by WorldSkills Europe.

He commented: “I am honoured to have been recognised in this way. WorldSkills is a fantastic organisation that supports young people across the world through competition-based training, assessment and benchmarking.”

STUDENT GIVEN SPORTING CHANCE

Two of Cornwall’s top sports clubs are teaming up with a local college to offer training to the next generation of sport analysts.

Championship rugby club, Cornish Pirates and Truro City FC have taken a Cornwall College sport student under their wing to offer a placement in analysing the players’ performance. Joel Pittard, who is studying a level 3 diploma in sports coaching, commented: “It is a really fantastic opportunity to be able to work with such high-level clubs and players in Cornwall.”

Pittard worked for the club during pre-season training and will continue throughout the season.

Chris Lane, sports performance analyst for the Cornish Pirates, added: “We are really excited to connect up with Cornwall College and support learners with applied highperformance placements within Cornish Pirates and Truro City FC.”

STUDENT VILLAGE PLANS REVAMP

Cornish sustainable property developer Verto has submitted a reserved matters planning application for a “world first” zero carbon student village at Penvose, Falmouth.

The student village was approved by Cornwall Council’s planning committee three years ago and has since been upgraded to a zero-carbon proposal which is now before the local planning committees to finalise the detail.

Penvose Zero Carbon Student Village will house up to 1,858 students and provide a host of retail and leisure facilities for students and the local community.

Andy West, head of land and planning at Verto, claims the facilities will also look to address and improve the rising issue of poor mental health among students.

He said: “During the pandemic we have seen reports of an increasing number of students feeling isolated, away from home and friends, often living in below par accommodation. We believe that by creating a village environment with first class accommodation and facilities, we can help foster a new student community and alleviate some of these issues.” Additionally, according to the developer, the site will not only offer high-quality zero carbon student accommodation but will also alleviate strains placed on the local community, including freeing-up of much valued car parking space, as well as housing stock in the towns of Falmouth and Penryn.

West believes the development will help the local area in a number of ways. He added: “Student numbers in Falmouth are set to soar over the coming years and this puts huge pressure on housing in Falmouth and Penryn.

“The development will host a dedicated student hub for living, studying and socialising, that is both on the edge of the town and near the campus. It will provide purpose-built accommodation to meet the needs of the growing student population, many currently living in HMOs across the town. We believe it will also free up much needed housing for local residents.”

ENTREPRENEURS IN RESIDENCE

Falmouth University’s venture studio, Launchpad, has appointed its first Entrepreneurs in Residence (EiRs).

The aim of the EiRs is to inspire, challenge, guide, and advise Launchpad candidates as they work to build and grow their start-ups.

The first EIRs have been announced as ex-scientist, advisory board member and multi-award-winning entrepreneur Dr Salman Malik; Utopy CEO and former Airbnb operations manager Shona Marsh; international trade expert Ben Leonard; independent chair and non-executive director Shimi Shah; and entrepreneur, non-executive director, interim manager, executive coach and mentor Stewart Noakes.

Dr Salman Malik said: “Working with driven teams inside a collaborative studio makes this programme exclusive and unique to Falmouth which is what excites me about being a part of this entrepreneurial community.”