The Landing Media City team set out a new skills partnership in association with The University of Salford.

Salford’s two education giants, The Landing and The University of Salford have created a partnership that has a shared ambition to stay at the forefront of educational excellence and build on the region’s industrial heritage.

As part of the agreement, Dr. Maria Stukoff, Director at the University’s Maker Space, an additive manufacturing and digital fabrication facility sponsored by the Morson Group, will take on a united consultancy function to the Innovation Hub, managed by IN4.0 Group, to foster future talent and support the development of the Landing’s esports and XR immersive community. This will bring together the collective strength of Salford’s Digital Strategy to ignite a digital and technical skilled talent pipeline.

Dr Stukoff is a well-known ‘imagineer’ of all things digital and brings with her a wealth of expertise from both public and private sectors having held roles as former head of digital at BBC Academy and head of Sony’s PlayStationFirst – joining fellow industry and technology experts at the fast-growing technology and skills hub.

Speaking about the new joint venture, Dr Stukoff said: “The University of Salford is known for its industry partnership and by working together, we can accelerate Salford’s digital transformation vision to create the right opportunities for forging an educational enterprise programme that connects the next generation of talent straight into the industry.”

As a board member of the British Esports Association and the Game Skills Council at ScreenSkills, Dr. Stukoff is an avid champion of Esports and XR immersive technology and how it has, “the power to disrupt, transform and advance the way we work, play and learn“, and that by, “bringing together this partnership we have an unparalleled opportunity to address the skills gap and develop innovation in the region to benefit our local community, industry partners and young people’s future lives.”

Jo Purves, Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic Development, University of Salford said: “Working in partnership with The Landing and IN4.0 is an example of the passion and dedication our organisations share to make sure we create real pathways for our talent pool, and I am excited for Mo Isap, CEO of IN4.0 Group to lead this partnership agreement.”

Mo Isap, CEO of IN4.0, added “Maria joins us with a wealth of experience in the immersive tech and esports space, and we’re confident her extensive knowledge, background and expertise will propel our innovation campus to be a beacon across the globe.

“The opportunities for industrial applications of the technology are diverse and make Salford the best place in the world to create immersive content and provide the industry with much-needed tech skills and talent.”