Left to right: Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work Derek Mackay; First Minister Nicola Sturgeon; Senior Vice-Principal Professor Neal Juster and Ann Allen, Executive Director of Estates and Commercial Services.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work Derek Mackay today paid a visit to the site of the new Learning and Teaching Hub.

They were welcomed by Senior Vice-Principal Professor Neal Juster and Ann Allen, Executive Director of Estates and Commercial Services.

The Learning and Teaching Hub is the first major construction in the University of Glasgow’s £1bn campus redevelopment and will provide extensive new learning and study and teaching places.

The First Minister and Cabinet Secretary were shown the site which is rapidly taking shape, with the building due for use in the 2019-2020 academic session. The project is also supporting an extra 2,500 jobs and will add an extra £130m to the local economy.

Derek Mackay MSP visits the Learning and Teaching Hub

The First Minister said: “I was delighted to visit the University of Glasgow today to see the ambitious and impressive work being undertaken as part of the £1bn commitment to redeveloping the campus in the west end of the city – a major investment which is a welcome demonstration of confidence in the Scottish economy, amidst an improving economic picture.

"The project will not only create a lasting legacy for future students and researchers, solidifying the Glasgow’s place as one of the top universities in the world – but will also provide a significant economic boost to the city in both the short and long term, helping the university to build on its reputation as a leader in research and innovation and helping equip the local and national economy with the skills we need to thrive in the years to come.”

Mr Mackay also paid tribute to the redevelopment of the campus, saying: “The scale of the ambition as well as of the investment here at the University of Glasgow is really impressive and will take this world leading university forward, delivering for students, for staff and for the wider community as well as linking in with business and industry.”

Professor Juster emphasised the scale of campus redevelopment, which is one of the biggest educational infrastructure projects in Scotland’s history adding: “As a world leading and world changing university is it vitally important that we provide the best facilities for our staff, students and researchers.

"We are also creating an innovation zone that will encourage spin out companies, attract partner business, create high value and sustainable jobs and enable us to broaden and deepen our links with industry at all levels. We see the development of the campus as a catalyst for a huge amount of positive economic activity.

But it will also be opened up for the use and benefit of the west end community and the wider city of Glasgow. That is key to what we want to achieve.

"We were very pleased to welcome First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary and delighted to share with them some of our thoughts and the vision that we have for the future.”

First published: 22 August 2018

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