OXFORD Brookes will officially open its new Swindon campus next week with a special unveiling by the man who the building is named after.

Last summer, the university moved from its former Ferndale Campus in the town to a new, larger campus at the Delta Business Park, as part of a £10 million investment over the next decade.

The new campus features a new library, high quality teaching spaces, skills labs, catering facilities and spaces to enhance support collaboration and research.

It also includes a simulation room complete with two dummies that breathe, and can mimic life-threatening situations.

Over 80 people from the local Swindon community including Brookes staff and students are expected to turn out for the grand unveiling - including .Lord Joel Joffe, long-time Swindon resident and former human rights lawyer, who the building is named after.

Lord Joffe said: “I’ve always known Oxford Brookes as an exciting university which has grown and done so wonderfully well. It is a great success story. I’m very proud that Oxford Brookes thought that it would be a little helpful to them to have my name on their building. It’s a real privilege for me and I’m proud of that.

“I’m very excited about Oxford Brookes expanding in Swindon, it’s important to have a university and to have a university here with the background and the prestige of Oxford Brookes is great for Swindon.”

The campus will be able to accommodate more than 500 trainee nurses and operating department practitioners on the path to their dream careers.

Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University Professor Alistair Fitt said ahead of the opening: “We have taught adult nursing degree and diploma courses in Swindon for almost 20 years and have an excellent reputation for producing high quality graduates, many of which go on to work in the local NHS in Swindon, Wiltshire and beyond.

“Since the summer both students and staff have been enjoying the new Joel Joffe building and it is a really exciting time for them.

“The Swindon community is important to so much of what we do at Oxford Brookes, particularly our valued relationships with key partners in the town and the wider region, so I am looking forward welcoming them to the official opening of the campus.”

As well as adult nursing and diploma courses, Oxford Brookes offers an Operating Department Practice diploma course and a range of continuing professional development (CPD) courses. There will also be an Open Day at the campus next month on March 25. For more information visit www.brookes.ac.uk/nursing.