State-of-the-art Health and Education Innovation Quarter officially opened at Wrexham Glyndwr University

Wrexham Glyndwr University officially opens its new Health and Education Innovation Quarter (HEIQ) in North Wales.

The HEIQ will help improve healthcare education in the region by providing technology-led learning experiences to train the next generation of healthcare professionals.

The facility will house pre-registration and post-registration Nursing and Allied Health Professions courses, including Physiotherapy, Paramedic Science, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Nutrition and Dietetics and Operating Department Practice.

The university was awarded the contracts for the delivery of the health programs through a competitive tendering process run by the Welsh Government via Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW).

The HEIQ is part of the University’s £80 million Campus 2025 investment project to revamp its facilities.

The Health Simulation Centre, housed within the HEIQ, was opened during a special ribbon-cutting event. Cutting-edge technology such as medical diagnostic t-shirts that use augmented reality and contactless interaction, wound scanners with augmented wound stickers, gait analysis using motion capture, 3D data for patient diagnosis, and 360 streaming virtual headsets were showcased during the occasion.

Maria Hinfelaar, Vice-Chancellor of Wrexham Glyndwr University, expressed her pride and excitement for the official opening and the impact it will have on the local community.

She said: “We have hundreds of fully funded places every year for students wanting a career in healthcare across North Wales.”

“This means that the region’s hospitals and care providers will have a constant stream of qualified professionals trained by our exceptional teams looking to work and care for patients in the area.”

Dr Simon Stewart, Faculty Dean of Social and Life Sciences at Wrexham Glyndwr University, said the HEIQ is providing the best possible experience and training ground for the region’s next generation of health professionals, and praised the efforts of everyone who worked tirelessly to make it a reality.

He said: “Our facilities and the technology we’re using are at the cutting-edge and in some instances, industry-leading, which is extremely exciting.”

“A huge well done to everyone, who has worked tirelessly to make this a reality.”