Robin's Blog

Yes, it’s finally happening! Our beautiful Penrose-inspired tiles are going up and going up fast.  I have been waiting for this moment for some 6 years, it’s the most exciting milestone we’ve reached and a great achievement for all concerned. We took some photos on a site visit yesterday morning:

Don’t they look amazing?

Happy New Year. It’s 2010, it’s snowing everywhere and we’ve finally arrived in what will be the most significant year in Ravensbourne’s history.  And a pretty significant year for the country as a whole, as we all face political upheaval and the tough realities of the recession kicking in. It’s not a pretty picture for HE I can tell you.

2010 is the year we relocate and start to build our new life at Greenwich Peninsula. And we are hugely excited about it, trying to remain undaunted by the enormous operational task still ahead of us before we open our front doors for the first time in October.

Two very good bits of news this week, both from our partners Greenwich Council. Firstly, that the Council has been awarded Royal Borough status by the Queen to mark the Diamond Jubilee in 2012. This is a rare honour and we are delighted for them. Secondly, that the Council has approved £1.5 million in resources for us, the detail of which we are still finalising. This is a great boost for us and we look forward to working with them closely over the coming year.

My last post in 2009. The end of a decade and the beginning of a new one, one which will bring Ravensbourne great opportunities and serious challenges in equal measure. Although we have an intense few months ahead leading up to our relocation, we need to keep focused on our life beyond. This week our teaching staff have been involved in 3 seminars, on the theme of ’2020′.  The aim is not so much to see into the future, as to try and get our heads around the changes taking place in the design, broadcasting and communications sectors over coming years, and to think about how our teaching practice needs to respond to that. We pride ourselves on treating our students as professionals from day one of their studies, making sure they are industry ready the moment they graduate. To do that, we need to keep ahead of the business and educational curve.

Yesterday I visited the site for the last time before Christmas and I was really impressed with the way our contractors have progressed since my last visit . The interior cladding is now up to the third floors and is looking brilliant, particularly  on the inside with the window openings framing the view and creating recognisable interior space. The cladding programme is now on track and the first tile panels will be raised during the week of 11 January. The exterior already looks impressive without them, but when the tiles arrive…

Ending on a festive note, there have been some truly creative e-cards in my inbox this week. My favourite has to be from our friends at the Design Council. Great fun. I’ll sign off for this year with our own season’s greeting and look forward to seeing you again in 2010.

Yesterday’s Pre-Budget Report makes gloomy pre-Christmas reading for anyone in HE. £600 million savings by 2012/13 from budgets across higher education, science and research including the student support budget will be harsh and could harm the growth of this dynamic sector.

All HE institutions will be affected. Ravensbourne is in a strong position because of our relocation (note, this will be unaffected by this announcement), but in order to minimise the impact of these cuts on the quality the student experience we are facing some very tough choices over the next two years.

As a sector, we are lobbying hard and will continue to press home the major role that higher education plays in the growth of the knowledge economy and in delivering a skilled workforce that can engage in the industries that will ultimately steer us out of this recession.

Elsewhere, last week an introduction to Bloomberg TV turned into an extremely productive meeting, sparking a number of actions. There is clearly potential for collaboration, particularly in digital media and they are interested in many our Enterprise and Innovation activities.

On the building front, the cladding panels are now arriving on site in larger numbers, but the recent high winds have caused problems for the installation teams, as each section can be over 10 metres square. Let’s hope for more temperate weather over the few weeks to get us back on track.

The publication of the digital economy bill this week has highlighted the Government’s outdated approach to the penalising of illegal file-sharing.  I don’t support illegal filesharing, but this does seem to take a 20th Century approach to digital communications. The earlier Digital Britain report seemed more progressive, applauding, for instance, Ravensbourne’s role in providing “training that innovates to meet the challenge of the constantly evolving media industries”.  So I am glad to hear that TalkTalk has launched the ‘don’t disconnect us‘ campaign against a law that would be very difficult to enforce, will probably not prevent illegal down loading, and – most importantly – does not appear to respond to the ways in which media are changing.

The Digital Britain report described the new Ravensbourne as “an outstanding new development”, a development which continues apace.  However, having visited the building last week I am concerned about the slow progress of the cladding which is now about 3 weeks behind schedule. The manufacturer, Schneider has increased production of the panels by having two shifts working a total of 20 hours a day. With their Polish subsidiary also in tile production they intend to get back on schedule. But this does mean the building won’t be waterproof now until January, rather than December as planned.

Peter Mandelson’s recently published White Paper on Higher Education ‘Higher Ambitions’ has some surprising insights on the student experience, which resonate strongly with what Ravensbourne is trying to achieve.  The notion of rating the value of courses by the rate of employment of graduates, for example, is one which would provide impressive results at Ravensbourne.  Our Skillset Academy status was awarded partly on the basis of our employment outcomes.  And the importance of building industry links:  we have developed an impressive enterprise and innovation programme, with partnerships with a host of leading digital media partners. While this is a labour party initiative I have no doubt that it’s been agreed by the conservatives and will be the basis of their strategy should they win the next election.

Ravensbourne will have to sustain that impressive level of results if it is going to compete in what is bound to be a fierce public sector funding environment over coming years, and in the context of increased student fees -  Mandelson also announced the team (seven of them) to assist Lord Browne in determining future fees and funding for HE.  Guess what, five of the seven were educated at either Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard so you can guess the likely outcome.

Earlier this year I visited Medialab-Prado in Madrid, an inspiring space aimed at the production, research and dissemination of digital culture. I was so impressed with the intensive courses on offer I’ve sent a Ravensbourne contingent there this week to investigate opportunities and future collaborations. Their collaborative workshops, lectures and seminars are open to anyone with an idea or project that needs to be developed within a digital framework. The opportunity to commercialise some of the outcomes of these projects seems possible.

Medialab-Prado is funded by the Madrid City Council’s Arts Department and also produces cross-border performances and exhibitions. An exciting set up with co-creation and open source at its core, it has much to teach us. It’s vital that we learn from good practice in other countries and that we remain committed to encourage international partnerships with leading edge organisations like Medialab. I have invited their Spanish team to come to England after we relocate, to offer an experimental fortnight in our new building…

Wednesday was taken over by a most successful Convocation held in The Vue Cinema at The O2. Hundreds of graduating students and their families gathered next door to our new home to celebrate another remarkable year of student achievement. Congratulations to all our 2009 graduates, we wish you the very best for your creative futures.  

We continue to develop our important relationship with Greenwich Council. Meetings were held this week to detail the offer from the Council to help with the equipping of the new building and to further define our support for Greenwich schools, particularly in the area of technology.

And last but not least, our November newsletter is out. Happy reading.

TV Studio activities still dominate the diary this week. The ITT (invitation to tender) has to be completed by early next week and sent to the 5 or so companies that will submit bids to build the studios. We’re up to our neck in tender projects at the moment – all progressing well and costed – including the internal floor finish, telephony, network data cabling, audio visual equipment, furniture, equipment for the prototyping areas, facilities management, catering…

Our Student Union have reacted surprisingly positively to the idea that our new building will be alcohol free. Enterprising and tenacious, they have already secured a range of discounts and deals from cafes, restaurants and clubs in The O2. This will provide a rich variety of venues and events to entertain themselves in their new home.

The first stage of the tender process for the TV studio fit-out and equipping is progressing well – 13 contractors from all over Europe have submitted bids. From this we need to produce a short list of 4-6 and then make a final selection. Looks like we are on track to go to contract by mid Jan 2010.

The building also moves ahead but we do have some concerns about the facade – those amazing tiles – as the schedule is running about two weeks behind. However we are assured that the time will be made up. Likewise the mechanical and electrical fit-out is running late but we are advised that the target date of mid June 2010 can still be achieved.

Finally, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Pawel Samecki, visited the site this week and was very pleased with progress on our ERDF investment. In his words: “very exciting…at the cutting edge of digital design technology and communication… precisely the sort of forward looking, innovative projects that the EU wants to invest in.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself.