Businesses are being given the chance to shape to design of the University of Bristol’s new £300m campus next to Bristol Temple Meads station as part of a major consultation on the scheme.
The university this week revealed its initial vision for the project – one of the city’s largest and most significant regeneration projects in decades.
The seven-acre scheme will create thousands of jobs in the digital and hi-tech sectors and also rid the city of the derelict former sorting office next to Temple Meads station. 
The university said one of its key goals was to work with industrial partners to develop a talent pipeline of graduates who will support the city’s burgeoning digital economy.
It is encouraging businesses to share their views by taking part in a public consultation, which runs until July 21.
The plans will be displayed at Engine Shed, the innovation hub next to Temple Meads station, and in Beacon House on The Triangle until July 7. There will also be special consultation events at Engine Shed and Paintworks.
Teaching and research at the new campus will focus on digital technologies in-line with the training and skills needs of industry partners, including a range of new degree programmes designed and developed in collaboration with industry and other partner organisations.
These will ensure students are equipped with the knowledge, skills, values and resilience to thrive and lead in a rapidly changing world.
Prof Dave Cliff, who is leading the academic side of the project, said innovation would be at the heart of the campus.
“It will focus on the digital technologies of the future and the skills, ethics, business models and infrastructure that turn digital opportunities into jobs, wealth and wellbeing that benefits the whole of society,” he said. 
“We are working with partners to build a talent pipeline of creative graduates who embrace social responsibility as well as opportunity. These graduates will be prepared to tackle global challenges that we can’t yet imagine.
“Our plan is for university staff and students to be co-located with partners from industry and commerce in the new buildings. We intend to work with our partners to co-design and co-deliver education and skills training in innovative new ways, better suited to the needs of employers and workers in the knowledge economy.”
The university also wants to work with a range of other partners, from community and cultural organisations to social enterprises and the NHS.
The site, which also takes in part of Arena Island, will include a new student village as well as new cycle and pedestrian links to the surrounding area and high-quality landscaping.
The university has set itself an ambitious timescale to open the campus in time for the start of the 2021/22 academic year, with construction work scheduled to start in 2019.
University of Bristol vice-chancellor Prof Hugh Brady added: “We have been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine the future of our university as one of the world’s great civic universities while also transforming a key site at the heart of our city.
“Our new campus is very much a work in progress and we would welcome people’s feedback, on everything from education provision, research and innovation to community engagement and transport links.
“We don’t know exactly what it will look like yet, but we do know that we want it to feel welcoming to everyone and to be a place for the whole city to learn, explore and enjoy.”
Although designs for the campus are in their infancy and will be informed by the outcome of the consultation, the university has ambitions to develop landmark buildings and public spaces which will provide a fitting welcome to those travelling into Bristol.
There will be a strong focus on creating a welcoming space that belongs to the community, turning a brownfield site into an open campus which will benefit everyone, the university said, possibly including further education and adult education opportunities or the creation of spaces for community use.
At its core lies a desire to develop a ‘Bristol approach’ to innovation which is visionary, transformative and inclusive – building on Bristol’s reputation as one of the world’s leading digital cities.
The university will be working with Bristol City Council to ensure the campus fits in with its plans for the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone – and area with the potential to attract more than 17,000 jobs over its 25-year lifetime and add £100m a year to the city’s economy.
Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees said: “I look forward to the development of plans for the new University of Bristol Enterprise Campus planned for the heart of the Enterprise Zone.
“This new world-class facility has the potential to turn a derelict site into an inclusive home for digital excellence, offering a vast range of opportunities and building on the city’s reputation as a leading digital city.”
A second round of consultation will follow in September before an outline planning application is submitted to the council later in the year. Applications for individual buildings will follow, with further consultation in 2018/19.
Visit www.bristol.ac.uk/TempleQuarter for more information.
The online consultation runs until July 21. The Engine Shed public exhibition is open from 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, and Beacon House from 8am to 7pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 4pm at weekends.
The consultation event at Engine Shed is July 5, from 3pm to 7pm, and at Paintworks on July 4 from 3pm to 7pm.
Feedback can also be made by phoning 0117 977 2002.
