Building Bath College’s vision for a campus of the future

Posted on 8th July 2015

Building Bath College’s vision for a campus of the future

The House has helped Bath College develop a new vision for a ‘campus of the future’.

We delivered a strategy workshop, held at the headquarters of organic dairy brand Yeo Valley, which brought together Bath College with a range of local businesses and organisations, including marketers, social enterprises, entrepreneurs, the B&NES economic regeneration team and the National Association of Colleges. The goal was to uncover a compelling vision and purpose to drive forward Bath College’s business strategy, culture and brand.

We first stimulated discussion by sharing examples of leading corporate campuses, such as Google, Pixar and the Future Business Centre in Cambridge, as well as research into the growing job sectors of the future. We then led an inspired debate about what the group wanted to see Bath College become known for.

From these sessions emerged a clear sense of purpose and vision: a college with enterprise at its heart, dedicated to the discovery and development of talent for those in work, looking for work and in the community.

We saw that Bath College has the potential to be a true ‘crossover campus’ that combines earning and learning by bringing businesses onto the site and sharing skills and resources. The college can equip students to enter the workforce by making college life feel more like a professional workplace than a typical student environment.

Following the sessions, The House provided Bath College with strategic recommendations for developing its business, culture and brand, as well as a clear timeline and priorities.

Matt Atkinson, Principal and Chief Executive of Bath College, said:

“We were absolutely delighted with how The House worked with us to develop our thinking for the future. Through skilled facilitation and creative interpretation of the world of further education and skills we have ended up at a point where we are poised to enter the next phase of our development. We are raring to go!”

The workshop builds on previous work we’ve done for Bath College with respect to the renaming of the former Norton Radstock campus, now known as Bath College Somer Valley.