MP Jesse Norman has called today an 'historic moment' as the government has confirmed that it will be providing £15 million to support the new university for Herefordshire.He said: "Today the Government is announcing £15 million funding for our new Herefordshire university!! After eight years of making the case, persuading, lobbying and campaigning, we have finally made it!"Fantastic work by Karen Usher and David Sheppard and Janusz Kozinski and the whole team they have built up. Great support from Herefordshire Council and councillors across the political spectrum. Thank you all. This is an historic moment."The New Model in Technology & Engineering (NMiTE) aims to become the first new ‘greenfield’ university in the UK for 30 years,

The money will support the establishment of a new higher education provider specialising in high-quality engineering courses. NMiTE will address the growing need for engineering talent in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and cyber-security.

NMiTE is taking a radical approach to training the next generation of engineers, including having a 50:50 gender balance target, 6 – 12 month integrated work placements, and recruiting graduates from non-traditional backgrounds. It will also offer accelerated degrees, meaning students can complete their degrees in two years.

The funding, which relies on the project meeting a set of milestones and criteria, will be used to develop the faculty, campus and curriculum, creating a new institution to draw talent to Hereford from the UK and beyond.

Jesse Norman, MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, first called for a university there in 2009. Today he said: "Over time this project will be utterly transformative for the city and the county: for local young people, for local businesses, for better jobs and pay and arts and culture and the economy and just about everything else."

Founding President and Chief Executive Professor Janusz Kozinski said: “With this terrific investment from the Government we are now ready for lift-off. We will be totally reimagining and redesigning the higher education experience for the young people who will create Britain’s future.”

“If Britain is to lead the next industrial revolution, driven by artificial intelligence, driverless cars and 4D printing, we need to educate young people to be pioneers and creators. We need to give them the confidence to think beyond their textbooks, the freedom to be daring, and the tenacity to turn ideas into new products, new companies and even entirely new industries.

“The future of higher education for engineers is arriving very soon, in Hereford.” This funding is in addition to the funding through the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal announced in March.