I had coffee this afternoon with Keith Straughan - an old friend from Cambridge who is now the dean of the University Centre Milton Keynes (UCMK). He was appointed in June and has been working night and day (as far as I can see) to turn some dreams into reality.The University Centre has been launched as part of Milton Keynes College and is based in an existing office building in Silbury Boulevard. The building has been completely redesigned and is now a wonderful light and airy centre filled with wonderful spaces for learning and creativity.
The central space, which had been dark and lifeless, has become two enclosed galleries - separated by a glass floor.
On the ground level there is a coffee shop - open to the public - which seems to serve good coffee - and tempting muffins. It's worth a visit if you can find a parking space...
It was really great to see how much has been achieved since June - and really encouraging to hear that they intend to take their time to develop the University from the ground up. This is the beginning of something really special.
Well done Keith and all at UCMK!
