The Innovative Technologies Centre in Bradford Launches the ?WOW? Academy

Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education will be visiting Bradford College on Monday 12th June to officially open the WOW Academy.

The WOW Academy is a unique education and training facility housed within the Innovative Technologies Centre on Thornton Road, Bradford.  The Academy aims to inspire teachers, young people, students, graduates, trainees, and employees to develop an interest in Digital and Creative Media using state of the art new Technology.

Over the last three years Bradford College, Yorkshire Forward and the Learning and Skills Council, have invested heavily in the Innovative Technologies Centre. The centre is equipped with a range of state of the art hardware and software for Video Capturing and Editing, Sound and Music, Filming and Broadcasting, Photography and Imaging, Virtual Reality, Games Technology, Animation, Multimedia, 3D Internet, 3D Stereoscopic Technology and ICT and offers a diverse range of education and training opportunities for people engaged in ?New Technology?.

The WOW Academy will be launched at the Innovative Technologies Centre on Monday 12th June.  Michele Sutton, Bradford College Principal and Chief Executive will welcome Bill Rammell, MP and VIP guests to the event before introducing Hashim Hashim, Bradford College Innovations Manager and Martyn Chesters, from Yorkshire Forward who will give a brief presentation about the centre and the facilities. Following the presentation Bill Rammell will be invited to officially open the WOW Academy at 2pm by unveiling a ?virtual? plaque.

Hashim Hashim will conduct a tour of the facilities before giving guests the opportunity to participate in a demonstration of some of the equipment and go ?virtual? using 3D stereoscopic technology to view 3D films and animations, manipulate and rotate images and design 3D plastic models, create embedded model objects in games, and motion capture people and objects for animations.

Commenting on the launch of the WOW Academy, Michele Sutton said, ?This is an exciting and innovative venture for the College and Bradford. The Academy will bring a lively education and training facility into the heart of the city.?

The aim of the Innovative Technologies Centre and the WOW Academy is to become a regional hub and a focal point for digital and creative media professionals by providing opportunities for skills, learning and engagement with the public. In creating the hub a network will be established to support and aid the digital and creative media industry. The network will in turn link and integrate with the sub-regional and regional networks/groups within the digital sector.

The centre is professionally recognised as an academy for Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle and CompITA vendors, and is in the process of adding Adobe Academy. The ?Wow Academy is designed to act as a discovery centre for ICT and digital and creative media.

The WOW Academy is located in the Innovative Technologies Centre, Victoria Building, 88 Thornton Road, Bradford, BD1 2DX. For more details about the WOW Academy please contact Hashim Hashim, Innovations Manager on: 01274 433343 or email: h.hashim@bradfordcollege.ac.uk.