Blackburn College invests £2m in improved teaching facilities

By Tim Aldred

12 May 2023

blackburn-college-university-centre.jpg

Blackburn College has secured £2.1m of Office for Students capital funding which will be used to enhance its cyber training suites and healthcare teaching ward.

The college will work in partnership with local employers to replicate real industry environments to help prepare students for the working world.

The facilities will be available to those studying for a range of existing and new qualifications.

The bespoke cyber and digital training centre will provide hands-on cyber security education and training. It will feature dedicated ‘attack’ and ‘defence’ rooms, creating hyper-realistic cyber-attack scenarios, as well as a new cyber project lab, and enhanced teaching areas.  

The college anticipates that having such real-world cyber, digital and data science training capabilities will help students take advantage of the growing job opportunities in this sector.

This includes the jobs set to be created by the arrival of the National Cyber Force in nearby Samlesbury, and the wider North West ‘cyber zone’ set to be established between Lancashire and Manchester.

A dynamic healthcare facility is also being developed featuring a new healthcare simulation ward. Equipped with programmable patient manikins calibrated for different clinical situations, the facility will give healthcare students realistic experiences in dealing with emergency, paediatric and other healthcare scenarios in line with current NHS best practice – without needing to access hospital sites.

The cyber training facilities will support degree studies in Data Science, Networking & Cyber Security and Software Development, all of which are validated by Lancaster University, while the healthcare hub will play a key role in a new Health and Social Care foundation degree in partnership with UCLan (subject to validation).

As well as boosting the college’s Higher Education provision through its University Centre, technical qualifications and apprenticeships will benefit.

The new facilities will also enable the University Centre to offer more flexible provision to meet the needs of employers and students to encourage a wider demographic of students to participate in higher education.

Dr Fazal Dad, principal and chief executive of Blackburn College, said: "These latest state-of-the-art investments will bring fantastic benefits to our students and the wider economic community by addressing crucial skills gaps.

"We have specifically designed our offering in line with employer needs in key sectors such as cyber and digital, healthcare and electric vehicles, as well as diversity and inclusion, working closely with them to ensure that our students are leaving us to progress into jobs and careers that will have a positive impact on local and regional economies today and long into the future.”

Enjoyed this? Read more from Tim Aldred

Latest news

1

University recognises adidas curator Gary Aspden

University recognises adidas curator

11 Jul 2025

2

Investment drives growth plan at CoolKit Coolkit Vans

Investment drives growth plan at CoolKit

11 Jul 2025

3

Story Homes submits plans for 140 new homes in Longton Story Homes plans

Story Homes submits plans for 140 new homes in Longton

11 Jul 2025

4

University of Lancashire climbs 14 places in student positivity survey Happy students at ULAN

University of Lancashire climbs 14 places in student positivity survey

10 Jul 2025

5

Forbes Solicitors achieves strong growth and promotes 15 Forbes Solicitors promotions

Forbes Solicitors achieves strong growth and promotes 15

10 Jul 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
LBV123 July/August Launch Event
Lancashire Business View magazine launch
Networking
16 Jul 2025

LBV123 July/August Launch Event

Burnley College University Courses Building, Burnley, BB12 0AN

08:30 - 10:30

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025
BEC 315 X 315 Px
Networking
25 Sep 2025

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025

Blackpool Football Club, Blackpool, FY1 6HX

08:30 - 13:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

Shaping Preston's future by remembering its past
1750160034867.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
16 Jul 2025 - 16 Jul 2025

Shaping Preston's future by remembering its past

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:30

Chamber Summer BBQ
LBV Hub Social
17 Jul 2025 - 17 Jul 2025

Chamber Summer BBQ

The Borough, Dalton Square, Lancaster, LA1 1PP

17:30 - 20:00

Preston Tech Connection: Web3 is Dead. Or is It?
July Longer Banner.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
29 Jul 2025 - 29 Jul 2025

Preston Tech Connection: Web3 is Dead. Or is It?

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 19:30

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: July
Longer July Banner.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
31 Jul 2025 - 31 Jul 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: July

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

Cumbria Business Expo 2025
https---cdn.evbuc.com-images-880461633-4862066883-1-original.20241022-110415.jpeg.jpg
LBV Hub Exhibitions
19 Sep 2025 - 19 Sep 2025

Cumbria Business Expo 2025

Carlisle Racecourse, Carlisle, CA2 4TS

09:00 - 15:00

North West Business Expo 2025
https---cdn.evbuc.com-images-880456273-4862066883-1-original.20241022-105445.jpeg.jpg
LBV Hub Exhibitions
24 Oct 2025 - 24 Oct 2025

North West Business Expo 2025

Bolton Stadium Hotel, Bolton, BL6 6SF

09:00 - 15:00

Lancashire Business Day 2025
241122lbvlancashiredaylhp0647web
Networking
27 Nov 2025

Lancashire Business Day 2025

Burnley FC , Burnley, BB10 4BX

12:00 - 17:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV122 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin