Wiltshire College & University Centre has joined forces with Bridgwater & Taunton College in a collaborative bid to successfully secure a share of a £5.4million government funding pot it was announced this week.

The College Collaboration Fund (CCF), designed to develop greater collaboration across the sector, has awarded the two colleges a shared £325,000 to develop innovative approaches to digital teaching and learning.

Wiltshire College & University Centre Principal Amanda Burnside said she was delighted at the news.

She said: “This new funding will enable both colleges to build on and further extend the great work that has taken place online during the lockdown.

“We will then be sharing this good practice across the sector.”

The CCF is a national programme for further education providers to enable them to respond to current challenges in the coming academic year around quality improvement, as well as capitalise on good practice, which includes new ways of working.

It was originally launched earlier this year, however was cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.

The 20 successful College partnerships were announced by Gillian Keegan, Minister for Apprenticeship and Skills at the Department for Education, who said: “Now more than ever, it’s vital that colleges can support their students to gain the skills they need to progress and employers and our economy need to grow. This fund will help colleges work together, to develop cutting edge digital approaches to online learning, to overcome new challenges and continue to deliver high quality education and training for the communities they serve.

“The past few months have been a challenging time for the sector, but they have gone above and beyond to support their students. This additional funding will help to support further collaborative work as we move forward.”