Wolverhampton University to invest £1 million in Walsall campus
The Walsall campus of Wolverhampton University is in line for a £1 million revamp, bringing new facilities and courses.
The sports teaching and research facilities at the campus will be transformed by the cash injection, with new hi-tech equipment being brought in.
This includes a new environmental chamber, which can be used to replicate any climate on the planet, which will be installed over the summer.
It will allow for temperature control, humidity and a simulated altitude, and will serve students and researchers as well as sports club and elite athletes.
The refurbished Human Movement Laboratory in the William Penny Brookes building will also include cutting-edge 3D motion capture technology.
This will digitally record human movements and model motion to enable analysis of high speed body movement.
Existing facilities such as the Human Performance Laboratories will also be completely refurbished as part of the £1m investment.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Geoff Layer said: “Our strategy for sport commits us to developing high quality research-led teaching, from academic staff and professionals who are connected to the most up to date developments in their subject areas.
“I’m delighted that we are investing in our sports facilities to ensure that they remain some of the very best for both teaching and research.”
Director of the Institute of Human Sciences, Dr Richard Medcalf added: “This is a wide-ranging investment in our sports teaching and research facilities for our Department of Sport and Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre. Replicating the climatic conditions of competition venues using the environmental chamber will be an interesting development for our sports science offer to clubs, elite athletes and national governing bodies. This is a really exciting time for sport at the University, as we continue to develop partnerships with our local clubs. We will also be hosting the Commonwealth Judo Championships at our Walsall Campus in September.”
The University is also launching a series of new courses for people working in or wanting to enter the sports industry, including BSc (Hons) Football Coaching and Performance and a BA (Hons) Sport Business Management.
A BSc (Hons) Sports and Exercise Therapy course is also among the new courses which will all be available for enrolment from September 2020.
