Graduation beckons for national trailblazers
THE pioneering education partnership between the Institute of Quarrying, the Institute of Asphalt Technology and the University of Derby, which, according to the CBI and Universities UK, has set the blueprint for other industries to follow, is about to bear its first fruit as the initial cohort of 40 diploma students prepare to graduate this weekend.
In 2006, the University of Derby took on the two institutes’ existing DAPS (Doncaster Assisted Private Study), previously delivered by Doncaster College, and developed the new curriculum with a number of Doncaster academic staff, several of whom have moved to the University to help run the programme.
According to Professor Hugh Rollinson, head of geographical, earth and environmental sciences at the University, the inaugural graduation is the icing on the cake for the new diplomas, which have been praised in the CBI–Universities UK’s ‘Stepping Higher’ report – a 128-page document that highlights the cream of UK workforce development through employer and higher education partnerships.
‘We are delighted with the national endorsement from the CBI, which is wonderful news for everyone involved,’ commented Professor Rollinson.
By upgrading its educational provision through academic accreditation at university level, the quarrying and asphalt industry is now better able to recognize the skills and knowledge of its highly trained managers, engineers and technicians.
Derby’s courses have the backing of the UK’s major international operators, including Tarmac, Lafarge, Hanson, CEMEX and Aggregate Industries, who each sponsor some of their staff to take their places among around 250 students on the two diploma courses every year.
