The University of Sheffield will officially open a new high-tech learning centre, on Wednesday. The Information Commons building is the result of a £23 million investment and will act as a harmonious resource to the universities’ existing library and IT resources.

Housed in the new building will be the university’s Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) which financed by the Higher Education Funding Council and considered a centre of excellence in teaching and learning.

Users of the centre will have access to an additional 500 PCs, wireless network and IT equipped classrooms as well as 100,000 of the most sought after and popular books. The centre will be accessible for scholars and academic staff 24 hours a day, with room for 1,300 study spaces.

At seven floors in height with 8,000 square metres of floor-space, the building has been designed by architects RMJM who are well-known for designing campuses for University of Stirling and University of York. The architecture firm have also been involved with the design of the Scottish Parliament building which won the prestigious Stirling Prize in 2005.

Commenting on the centre, Alex Hunt, Information Commons Manager at the University of Sheffield said, “I am delighted to be managing such a fantastic learning facility, which combines high-quality, student focussed study space with extensive print and digital learning resources.”