Lancashire employers and students from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) have been given a preview of the new £35 million Engineering Innovation Centre (EIC), as it nears completion.

Located in one of the most intense engineering and manufacturing hotspots in the UK, the EIC will provide an integrated space for teaching, research and direct links with industry.

Staff, students and local companies will have access to flight simulators, artificial-intelligence capabilities and specialist electronic labs.

The £35 million facility has been constructed with the involvement of employers across the county and the wider North West; they have helped to inform its design and will play a significant role in the operation of the new building.

It is expected to produce graduates in aerospace, mechanical and energy technologies, and engineering.

UCLan executive dean Ian Allison (www.uclan.ac.uk) said: “It’s great to see the EIC taking shape.

Within Lancashire, Preston’s historical strength has been in manufacturing and engineering; our aim for the EIC is to help ensure that we are at the forefront of the new ‘digital’ industrial revolution — supporting new generations of engineers and shaping the future of skills development in our city, as well as Lancashire and the North West as a whole.

"I’m really looking forward to seeing the EIC completed and welcoming students and academics into the building in early 2019.”