DIGITAL FUTURES PROGRAMME
DIGITAL FUTURES PROGRAMME
With the rapid digital transformation of business, communities and society, the data centre sector is experiencing rapid growth, and is facing an on-going skills shortage.
The Digital Futures programme will train young people as engineers to build out the digital highways to enable the world to communicate securely, and at speed.
Data Centres require engineers with mechanical and electrical engineering skills, knowledge of IoT devices and cabling infrastructure, and project management.
This exclusive programme will provide young people with the opportunity to start training for a world-class career, in a course designed by some of the industry’s biggest companies, including:
The Programme
Our industry partners will all provide elements of the Digital Futures Programme, which is embedded into our core engineering curriculum. The programme will incorporate:
Year 10-11
CoTeach Lessons – masterclasses delivered by industry partners in the curriculum
CoTeach Workshops – training delivered by industry partners to develop key employability skills Challenge Days – drop down days where students work in teams alongside industry partners
Year 12-13
CoTeach Projects – specialist activities within the engineering curriculum delivered by industry partners to provide contextual learning and an in-depth understanding of the data centre environment
CoTeach Workshops – activities delivered by industry partners to help students to develop the employability skills needed in the world of work
Pipeline Programme – work placements with industry partners to develop the skills needed for world-class careers. Critically this also enables students to make a great impression with potential employers and to learn more about the careers available in the data centre industry
What will it lead to?
Students will leave UTC Heathrow with a BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate/Diploma/Extended Diplomas in Engineering and/or A levels in STEM. On completion of the Digital Futures Programme, students will have:
- Completed multiple projects led by employers within the specialist technical pathway
- Undertaken work placements
- Built relationships with leading industry partners to create opportunities for careers, either as apprentices or as graduates following university
Here’s what we’ve been doing
AWS CASE STUDY
CNET CASE STUDY
Digital Futures Articles
Education key in confronting data centre skills gap
More needs to be done to change the perception of the data centre industry in order to attract talent, says Steve Hayward, Senior Director, European Operations at Cyrus One. The lack of talent in the data centre industry is a well-known issue that isn’t going to be...
Quantity surveyors under the spotlight
Year 11 students were asked to consider the role of the quantity surveyor in a workshop led by Soben, one of our newest Digital Futures partners. The Introduction to Quantity Surveying workshop, which took place on 4...
VIRTUS Challenge Day – ‘Build a Data Centre’
Year 10 students got the chance to build a hypothetical data centre earlier this month with the help of the combined might of our Digital Futures Programme partners when they took part in a Challenge Day. In an activity...
Founding DFP partners meet Lord Baker at House of Lords
Two of the founding partners behind UTC Heathrow's Digital Futures Programme enjoyed a celebratory lunch at the House of Lords on Friday, 17 October. CNet Training's President and CEO Andrew Stevens and Matt Pullen, MD Europe of CyrusOne, were hosted by The Rt...
Kao Data joins Digital Futures Programme
UTC Heathrow is delighted to announce a new partnership for its flagship Digital Futures Programme - Kao Data. High-performance data centre operator Kao Data will join nine other world-leading data centre firms in working alongside the UTC to deliver a co-teach...
David Simmonds MP ‘champions improved life chances for young people’
David Simmonds MP joined Mayor of Hillingdon Becky Haggar in officially opening UTC Heathrow's basketball and was interested to find out about the unique education UTC Heathrow provides. In his words: "I was delighted to join Hillingdon Mayor and Eastcote Councillor,...
Students warm up to cooling systems
Year 12 BTEC Engineering students took on the first part of a complex real-world challenge in their first Unit 5 course assignment last week in engineering module delivered by Ark Data Centres. As part of the Digital Futures Programme, which focuses on engineering...
CYRUSONE FUNDS NEW MULTI-SPORTS COURT
Court built created thanks to generous donation from UTC Heathrow partner CyrusOne UTC Heathrow students have been burning off energy on a brand-new multi-sports court built on a previously inaccessible piece of land, thanks to funding from one of the school’s...
Racking up data centre knowledge
Students enjoyed a hands-on lesson in connectivity, when representatives from CNet Training came in to deliver a Data Racks Workshop to Year 11 students as part of the *Digital Futures Programme. For the uninitiated, data racks are a type of physical steel and...
Hear from our Partners
CNET Training
CNet Training is recognised throughout the world for being the global industry leader and the only industry dedicated education provider to award both internationally recognised qualifications and professional certifications, starting at qualification level 3 through to a level 7 Masters Degree in Data Centre Leadership and Management. A significant part of CNet Training’s history is the development of the highly acclaimed Global Digital Infrastructure Education Framework, which allows individuals to plan data centre knowledge and skills progression, qualifications and certifications to meet individual career aspirations.
VIRTUS Data Centres
VIRTUS Data Centres (VIRTUS), London’s leading data centre company and part of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC), builds and operates the UK’s most efficient facilities which underpin the UK’s digital economy.
VIRTUS has over a decade of experience designing and operating cutting-edge data centres in London’s metro. Over the years, it has built a strong reputation for providing Operational Excellence and delivering robust, complex solutions for the most demanding Global customers. It is home to large and small enterprises, global hyperscale cloud customers, banks, charities, universities and technology start-ups.
CyrusOne
CyrusOne (NASDAQ: CONE) is a premier global REIT specializing in design, construction and operation of more than 50 high-performance data centers worldwide. The Company provides mission-critical facilities that ensure the continued operation of IT infrastructure for approximately 1,000 customers, including approximately 200 Fortune 1000 companies.
A leader in hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud deployments, CyrusOne offers colocation, hyperscale, and build-to-suit environments that help customers enhance the strategic connection of their essential data infrastructure and support achievement of sustainability goals. CyrusOne data centers offer world-class flexibility, enabling clients to modernize, simplify, and rapidly respond to changing demand. Combining exceptional financial strength with a broad global footprint, CyrusOne provides customers with long-term stability and strategic advantage at scale.
CRBE
The World’s Leading Full Service Data Centre Services Partner
CBRE Data Centre Solutions (DCS) delivers fully integrated real estate, facilities and technology solutions for data centre owners, occupiers and investors across the globe. As a dedicated business line within CBRE, DCS is dedicated to solving complex challenges within every stage of the data centre lifecycle. Whether you are looking to develop, build, buy, sell, or manage and modernise one data centre or an entire portfolio—DCS can help your priorities succeed with certainty.
700+ data centres managed including enterprise, colocation and hyperscale/ 50+ countries represented with a global network of deep experience/ $1.7B in transactions per year delivering proactive insights and expertise locally, regionally and globally.
Amazon Web Services
For over 15 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud offering.
AWS has been continually expanding its services to support virtually any cloud workload, and it now has more than 200 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 81 Availability Zones within 25 geographic regions, with announced plans for 21 more Availability Zones and seven more AWS Regions in Australia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.
Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com.
LMG
Based in central London, with revenues of £35m, LMG has been providing ICT, facilities management and corporate real estate infrastructure services since 1986. Working across a wide range of industries including; financial services, technology, communications, government, hospitality and residential, we help global organisations plan, install and manage the smart building systems and infrastructure they need for inspirational workplaces, efficient data centres and connected homes.
Our data centre services include the design & build of landlord/operator areas with smart building technology, ICT infrastructure, audio-visual and electronic security systems, in addition to the fit-out of white space and provision of tenant support.
ARK Data Centres (Crown Hosting Data Centres Limited)
Crown Hosting Data Centres Limited is a unique joint venture between the Cabinet Office and Ark Data Centres dedicated to serving the Public Sector. Together we are the trusted partner of the UK Government delivering increased efficiency, improved value, and transparency of Data Centre Services.
Combined, we bring the Government assurance, integrity and capabilities of the Public Sector, unified with the speed of execution and flexibility of the Private Sector.
We offer all Public Sector organisations the same foundation to create and inspire change, opportunities to transform, move forward, consolidate infrastructure, and migrate to new platforms using a more efficient and cost-effective model.
Yondr
Yondr is a developer, owner operator and service provider of hyperscale data centres. The company’s mission is to meet growing businesses’ data centre capacity and technical real estate needs faster, more elegantly and with better performance outcomes than anyone else. As an organisation, Yondr self-funds, designs, delivers and operates hyperscale data centre facilities globally.
Soben
Launched in 2011, Soben offers something different – combining the best consultancy practices with real-life, hands-on commercial experience in delivering major construction projects across the globe.
We aim to ensure that our clients are commercially successful whilst delivering large-scale and complex construction, infrastructure, and energy projects. Our experience delivering projects for contractors in a high-risk, low-margin environment means that we understand the need to be commercially aware and deliver projects on time and within budget.
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