UTC Reading has been awarded Centre of Excellence status for equipping students with digital skills and qualifications. 

The UTC achieved this award from Prodigy Learning in recognition of the variety of ways in which the UTC delivers industry standard qualifications from industry leaders such as Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft.

Among the achievements so far this year, UTC Reading Year 13 students are building their CVs with “prof quals” (professional qualifications) from Microsoft, Autodesk and Adobe. This will help them to seek out the best apprenticeships and sponsored degree programmes when they finish this summer.

The UTC has already beaten last year’s record of exams passed by students, even with another four months to go before the end of the academic year.

Students in every year group are allocated time in their timetable to study for these exams, which is optional. This proves their level of commitment to improving their skills and qualifications.  UTC Reading invests in their students’ future by funding every exam taken, as an integral part of their career pathways support programme.

At Christmas during the Student Celebration Evening, Toby Aurelius and Risha Divyesh were presented with prizes by Prodigy Learning in recognition of their achievements in Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) and Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) exams. More recently, Year 13 student Katie Munday sat and passed her Autodesk Certified User (ACU) Revit exam, which was an amazing accomplishment and will be highly valued by industry. The heat is on as students as young as 14 are now regularly sitting the professional qualification exams.

Andrew Griggs (Country Manager, Prodigy Learning) said: “It is a great pleasure to be presenting UTC Reading with a Centre of Excellence Award.  This award is presented by Prodigy Learning to recognise exceptional performance in delivering internationally recognised IT certifications from industry leaders such as Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft.”

“Prodigy Learning awards Centre of Excellence status annually to a small number of centres (academic institutions and private training providers) in the UK & Ireland to mark the delivery of over 250 IT certifications in the year and high standards of achievement.“

Image: Wayne Edwards (Vice Principal, UTC Reading) and Jonathan Nicholls (Assistant Principal for Engineering and Science) are pictured receiving the award on behalf of UTC Reading.

About UTC Reading

UTC Reading is a university technical college (UTC) that opened in Reading, Berkshire, England in September 2013. The University of Reading, Reading College and Oxford and Cherwell Valley College are the lead education sponsors of the UTC, while business partners include Agilent Technologies, CGI Group, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Peter Brett Associates LLP and Network Rail.

More Information

For more information on Adobe, Autodesk or Microsoft certifications, please click here or contact us.