Published: 5 November 2021
Sir David Bell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sunderland made his first official visit to our new building recently.
He spent the morning looking around our 220-capacity Harbour Exchange space near the original building at Marsh Wall.
Sir David came to celebrate with us as we marked a successful year of teaching even in the face of the pandemic.
Speaking at the event, he said: “What has become clear to me during the past 18 months, is just how much of a community we have in both London and Sunderland.
“How willing, and resourceful people are, under the most challenging of circumstances, to keep going, to keep achieving, and to keep caring for what we do.
“And this fantastic new facility we are now standing in is indeed testament to that.”
It was also an opportunity for Sir David to meet our newly appointed Students’ Union President, Victoria Ayedofe.
The first person to hold this position, Victoria is helping to build closer ties with the University of Sunderland in London and our campuses in the North-East as well as developing SU activities for our students.
The event started with a tour of the new facilities which include state-of-the-art lecture rooms, break out study rooms and social spaces to encourage the community-feel and friendly atmosphere the University of Sunderland in London is known for.
Sir David then joined a large crowd of students and staff for coffee and doughnuts where he had an opportunity to meet with our Student Ambassador and Stay Safe Ambassador teams.
On the expansion, Alan Hardie, our Director, said: “The growth of our University into Harbour Exchange 4 is the result of the hard work of our kind and helpful staff.
“In particular, the Student Recruitment, Marketing and Admissions teams have done a great job increasing our numbers over the past few years.
“It's a move that means more facilities and a bigger space, but it's also just the start of our ongoing expansion plans, which we're looking forward to seeing more of in the near future.
“In the meantime, I'm excited for the improvements in both student experience and performance that this new space will bring.”
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