University of Leicester to host ground-breaking ceremony for new Centre for Medicine

The University of Leicester's new research and teaching institution to launch for the Medical School's 40th Anniversary in 2015

The University of Leicester's ground-breaking new £42m Centre for Medicine will become the hub for leading medical academics at the University, bringing together cutting-edge medical research and education for the first time under one roof. 

Construction of the Centre will begin later this year and will be completed in 2015 - the same year the Medical School celebrates its 40th anniversary.

The ground-breaking ceremony will be taking place on Wednesday 18 December where senior members of the University, representatives of Willmott Dixon and two local patients will be present.

The new Centre for Medicine will provide a unique opportunity for the University to bring together world-leading medical research and medical education under one roof and to produce doctors who are able to deliver high quality care in an effective and compassionate manner in a rapidly changing environment.

Professor David Wynford-Thomas, Dean of the School of Medicine and Head of the College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology at the University of Leicester said: "This new Centre will give Leicester medical students probably the most advanced environment and facilities in which to study medicine in the UK. 

"It will also act as a hub for the University's research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of some of today's major health problems, as well as housing much-needed research aimed at finding new ways to improve quality and safety in the NHS. As such, it represents a shining example of the University of Leicester's ongoing commitment to "research-led teaching."

Many of the doctors at the Centre will work in Leicestershire, but importantly for those who do not, both they and their patients across the UK and the world will benefit from the educational investment they will have received at the Leicester Medical School.

Willmott Dixon will construct the building to Passivhaus standards, providing a super insulated six-storey campus with  teaching rooms, offices, lecture theatres, dry lab research facilities and support spaces to more than 2,350 staff and students. It is the largest non-residential project to meet the ultra-energy efficient building standard the company is known for.

The building has been designed to include features that minimise its energy use, including a subsoil heat exchange system to pre-warm and pre-cool incoming air, heat recovery mechanisms within the ventilation system, and automated exterior window blinds to keep rooms cool in summer, as well as super-insulation, triple glazing and LED lighting throughout.

The University is planning the launch of a public fundraising appeal later in 2014 and £1.5m has already been pledged to the campaign by individuals, Trusts and Foundations.