Further Education institutions are ultimately there to enhance the lives of people and communities but until now there hasn’t been an exploration of the link between the physical buildings and the impact these have on inspiring learners in an arresting and visual fashion.
Cue ‘Colleges on Camera’ – an exciting new initiative asking students to ‘capture in a single shot’ the ways their colleges inspire and motivate them as they make their ‘new starts’ in life.
The competition is an initiative from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). It celebrates the imaginative, world-class spaces that have been built across the country as part of the £2.3 billion Building Colleges for the Future programme.
More than 100 FE colleges and National Skills Academies have benefitted from significant levels of investment in new builds over the past four years and any student from any one of these institutions is eligible to enter. The new world-class facilities are having a positive impact on people’s lives by providing high quality learning experiences for all.
It is important for students attending colleges with new facilities to feel excited and inspired by these innovative new spaces and a photography competition presents the perfect opportunity to do this in a creative way. The importance of this competition has been recognised by the distinguished members of the panel that will be judging the award.
These include Sunand Prasad, President of RIBA, Chris Banks, Chairman of the Learning and Skills Council and Wes Streeting, President of the National Union of Students. A one-off prize, including a ‘master-class’ with renowned photographer Sir Colin Hampden-White for the winner and fellow students, plus a professional photography kit worth over £2,500, is up for grabs.
To enter, students will be tasked with capturing the vibrant and diverse life of their college in one shot – whether it is interacting in the innovative new spaces, sharpening culinary abilities in a professional kitchen, working with friends in a futuristic library, or showing how the college benefits employers and the local community.
Entries should be emailed to collegesoncamera@cohnwolfe.com by 5pm on Friday 13th March.