Select a region
Last Thursday evening marked the launch of Jersey's first ever Learning & Innovation Centre for IT skills at Beaulieu Convent School which will bring the latest technology skills training to local communities free of charge.
A large number of Jersey students, parents, teachers and members of the community attended the launch - which took place on Thursday 12 October - and heard from Mourant Ozannes managing partner, Daniel Birtwistle, and assistant head for curriculum and technology at Beaulieu, Rory Steel. The innovative project has been co-funded by Mourant Ozannes and Beaulieu Convent School.
Outside of school hours, the Centre will see up to 30 students at a time given a range of technology training in areas such as coding, website design and the use of state of the art technology like 3D and virtual reality. The bespoke Learning & Innovation Centre space comprises 30 iMacs, and features the latest technologies from Virtual Reality to 360-degree cameras. Beaulieu School is in a unique position to be able to provide this advanced Centre, as it is the first school in Europe to have super-fast gigabit Wi-Fi.
Managing Partner at Mourant Ozannes in Jersey, Daniel Birtwistle, said: "We are incredibly proud to support this milestone in Jersey's development as a centre for the digital industries, which truly puts the island on the map for its pioneering approach to digital education. The Centre has the potential to benefit all islanders, and, in turn, to have a huge positive impact on our community as a whole. We would like to congratulate Beaulieu on the launch last week, it's a culmination of a lot of ideas, hard work and dedication."
Assistant head for curriculum and technology at Beaulieu, Rory Steel, said: "With technology trends changing so rapidly, it is vital Jersey keeps pace with the rest of the world. We believe this new local resource will give islanders the opportunity to learn new skills and experience new technologies, no matter their skill level."
The new Centre will be run by IT specialists, as well as students, who will be encouraged to help with and eventually run some of the sessions. The team will be focusing on planning a programme of structured free support sessions for third sector organisations.
