Town Deal project: ACE Centre | Town Deal project: ACE Centre

Digi-Tech ACC

Project complete February 2023

City College's new Advanced Construction and Engineering (ACE) Centre opened in February 2023, following a £3.1m upgrade funded by the Norwich Town Deal.

Located within the Blakeney Building on the Ipswich Road campus, the ACE Centre has been created through a major refurbishment of 8 existing classrooms and workshops.

The facility has been fitted with specialist equipment that is aligned to current industry practices and future skills needs, while supporting students and apprentices to become highly skilled advanced technicians. Further details about the upgrades:

Advanced engineering and manufacturing - updated and refurbished a dedicated teaching lab for automated engineering and manufacturing practices where efficiency and sustainability are key concerns. Providing modern facilities for computer designed mills and lathes, as well as the enhanced ability to teach Industry 4.0 aligned processes. Improvements in training facilities related to work with Programming Logic Controllers (PLCs) which are at the heart of enhancing efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes in a more automated world and some initial training equipment related to additive manufacturing.
Sustainable transport - the first motor vehicle training facility in the region specifically designed to support hybrid and electric vehicles. There is a compelling and urgent need for the current training in motor vehicle engineering to have the infrastructure, equipment and facilities to be ready to support the creation of a low carbon transport infrastructure.
Advanced construction - creation of a new learning environment for the delivery of advanced construction training, including support for civil engineering training. The facilities for this key sector of training require considerable modernisation to ensure that the latest practices and equipment are available to students and to inspire the next generation of students to consider technical construction roles.
Digital technologies - creation of three advanced technology classrooms to enable skills in technologies, such as Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Building Information Modelling (BIM). These would support developments in the productivity, efficiency and sustainability of both the engineering and construction industries through use of digitally enabled technology.