Artist's impression of STEM building.

Our Department of Mathematical Sciences is to have a new home in the state-of-the-art £13.2m science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) building to be built at our Colchester Campus.

The new STEM building will transform Square 1 into a dedicated science square with new collaborative learning spaces and interdisciplinary teaching facilities. Work is due to start on site next month, with the new centre set to be completed for the start of term in October 2017.

The new building will be a welcome new home for Maths, giving the Department a more visible presence on campus, boosting growth and greatly improving the student experience.

“We are delighted that the Department of Mathematical Sciences is to have a new home in the new multi-million-pound STEM building,” said Head of Department Professor Abdel Salhi. “The decision fits perfectly with the mission of the Department which is to teach core mathematics topics with an applied slant and to foster interdisciplinary research within the Faculty of Science and Health.”

A £5m award from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was awarded to Essex for the STEM building project – the highest award available for STEM facilities. The University have found an additional £8.7m to supplement this award.

Professor Graham Underwood, Executive Dean for the Faculty of Science and Health, added: “As one of the founding departments of the University, it is great news our Department of Mathematical Sciences is to have a fitting new home.

“Mathematics is at the core of much scientific endeavour, so it is very appropriate that the department is moving into a new location within our exciting STEM building development. This move will contribute to the vision of STEM at Essex as an integrated set of disciplines, and contribute to the community of staff and students focused around Square 1 at the University.”

The building will also include a versatile, 180-seat wet lab for Biological Sciences students and a 150-seat IT-rich exploratory learning space to help students from across the Faculty of Science and Health work collaboratively on projects. Good accessibility will be a key feature of the building, which will also include a social space and café which can be used to meet external partners, businesses, schools and stage outreach activities.