Our EKC Canterbury College has a possible case of meningitis. We have written to all students, but if you have not seen the letter, you can view a copy by clicking on the 'more information' button below.
Please note, our Colleges and Training Centres remain open, and students should attend as normal.
Last year, EKC Group launched the EKC Innovation Kitchen – a state-of-the-art facility which offers food entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes access to high-end equipment and professional-grade facilities typically out of reach for smaller producers.
It comes as North West Regional College (NWRC) launched Foodovation – Northern Ireland’s business centre of excellence for food development and technology – in 2016.
It was this project which turned out to be the inspiration behind the launch of the EKC Innovation Kitchen, and to celebrate the collaborative partnership, the team from NWRC visited The Yarrow earlier this month to take a look inside the EKC Innovation Kitchen.
Suzanna Gamwell, Group Head of Business Innovation at EKC Group, said: “I was delighted to welcome colleagues from NWRC to The Yarrow Hotel to unpack the unique work placement model that EKC Group is able to provide here, and to give them a tour of our own EKC Innovation Kitchen.
“The team has been kind enough to provide me and my team with sage advice, guidance, and mentoring over the last year, and it was great to reflect on the early days of Foodovation.
“Their willingness to pass on what they’ve learnt to other FE innovators has been instrumental in helping us to kick start the emerging Business Innovation offer we now have at EKC Group.”
The initial knowledge sharing has now developed into a relationship centred around collaboration, innovation, and knowledge exchange, allowing both colleges to share best practices, explore new approaches to curriculum design, and strengthen the connection between education and industry across both organisations.
Stella Graham, who is the Foodovation Manager at NWRC said the visit was valuable, engaging, and insightful.
“Our visit today has provided a fantastic opportunity to see how high-quality education and commercial operations can work seamlessly together, particularly in a way that supports both curriculum delivery and innovation,” she said.
“The Yarrow is an excellent facility. The integration of a working hotel with student learning is particularly impressive, and the Innovation Kitchen is a real highlight, providing a modern, industry-standard space that encourages creativity, experimentation, and the development of commercially viable food concepts.
“We’ve gained valuable insight into how we can further embed real-world industry practices and innovation into our curriculum.
“In return, we hope that sharing our own approaches to curriculum design, employer engagement, and innovation will support EKC Group in continuing to develop and refine their offer, creating mutual benefit for both organisations.”
