SUMMER 2025 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 16
GPSJ
EDUCATION & LEARNING
Delivering a distinctive, employerled student experience at Greater
Manchester Institute of Technology
By Claire Foreman, Director, Greater Manchester Institute of Technology
When the Greater Manchester Institute of Technology (GMIoT) prepared to welcome its 昀椀rst cohort of students
in September 2023, one critical question framed our thinking: what is truly distinctive about being an Institute of
Technology (IoT) student?
Claire
Foreman
Across the UK, Institutes of
Technology have emerged as a
new and necessary solution to
address skills shortages in highdemand technical sectors. Some
are housed in landmark buildings,
purpose-built and equipped with
the latest engineering or digital
technologies. These spaces play
a signi昀椀cant role in showcasing
regional investment in technical
education. But at GMIoT, our
approach has taken a di昀昀erent
path, less focused on physical
infrastructure, more invested in
systemic, collaborative delivery.
A Distributed but Uni昀椀ed
Model
GMIoT was created through a
partnership of FE colleges, the
University of Salford, and strategic
employers. We operate on a
hub-and-spoke model, with each
partner institution upgrading and
re-equipping their own STEM
teaching environments to meet
the needs of IoT students.
The University of Salford, our
lead partner, is building a new
facility that will serve its own IoT
students and also host regional
16
events. Meanwhile, Ada, the
National College for Digital Skills,
had no Manchester base before
IoT funding enabled it to convert a
disused Department for Education
site in Ancoats into a thriving
digital learning hub.
This distributed model is more
than a logistical choice; it re昀氀ects
our commitment to embedding
high-quality technical education
within existing institutional
ecosystems while linking them
through a common framework of
excellence.
Beyond the Building:
De昀椀ning the Student
Experience
Having high-tech kit is a starting
point, not the endpoint. What
distinguishes an IoT student
experience is not simply where
learners study, but how they learn,
and how closely that learning is
aligned to real industry needs.
Many colleges today aspire
to employer-led curricula, live
briefs, and enrichment through
visits or guest speakers. Yet in
practice, these elements can be
inconsistent, present in some
courses, some years, for some
students. Too often, especially
at higher education (HE) levels
within colleges, these features are
deprioritised due to limited scale,
sta昀케ng pressures, or siloed quality
assurance systems.
IoTs like GMIoT were
established to break this cycle.
We were designed to embed
employer engagement, technical
rigour, and practical experience
into the core of every programme,
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL SUMMER 2025
not as an add-on or aspiration,
but as standard.
Building a Talent Pipeline
That Works
At the heart of GMIoT’s mission is
the commitment to developing a
robust talent pipeline for Greater
Manchester’s priority sectors. That
means students bene昀椀t from:
• Regular exposure to
industry: From employerreviewed curricula and real-world
assessment tasks to site visits,
networking events, and guest
speakers, we ensure that learning
is informed by the latest in
business and technology.
• Teaching by industryinformed sta昀昀: Our delivery
partners bring both academic
expertise and current sector
knowledge further enriching
the student experience through
hands-on employer training.
For example, an employer
might demonstrate the latest
drone surveying technologies or
share digital twin modelling, or
recommend specialist software for
courses; our partners help keep
our curriculum industry-relevant
and future-focused.
• Access to industry-grade
facilities: Our students train
with the technologies and tools
they’ll encounter in the workplace
in new or upgraded workshops
and labs. They are also exposed
to university research facilities
that widens their horizons and
provides a glimpse of future
technologies they’re likely to
encounter in the workplace.
• A shared student identity:
Through dual branding, shared
induction resources, welcome
packs, and community-wide
events, we cultivate a sense of
belonging that spans campuses
and partner institutions.
Systematising Excellence
Across the Partnership
To avoid the “postcode lottery”
e昀昀ect in student experience,
GMIoT implemented a set of
baseline commitments for every
programme under its banner.
These include:
• Annual employer reviews of
course content
• A de昀椀ned number of
assessments based on real
industry scenarios
• A pre-planned programme
of enrichment activities:
guest speakers, industry visits,
competitions, and events
Rather than relying on ad-hoc
arrangements, we organise
employer engagement across
all providers and subjects. So
instead of last minute invites to
guest speakers who are already
familiar to students, we deliver a
planned and considered selection
of fresh employer contributions
aligned to current trends. For
example, bringing in a guest
speaker to discuss a new process
of manufacture being trialled that
is not yet part of a given course
requirement, a visit to a modular
build production site during a
modern methods of construction
module, or a visit to a robotics
centre during an AI module.
We also support partner sta昀昀
by centrally arranging many of
