ITN presenter Fiona Armstrong was in Preston last week for the opening of the University of Central Lancashire's new £15million Media Factory.

Originally from Preston, Fiona, who has worked for ITN as reporter and newscaster on News at Ten, chatted with students at UCLan and was given a guided tour of the new building which theatre spaces built to house dance, theatre and music shows as well as a digital television studio with control galleries, a film and photographic studio, video editing rooms and industry standard Apple Mac suites.

The facility, part financed by European Regional Development Fund, will give UCLan students access to industry-standard performing arts and multimedia facilities.

In addition, the North West's entrepreneurial graduates and business community will to able to tap into the opportunities offered via a dedicated business incubation centre.

UCLan is already renowned for offering relevant and immediate career prospects, with 95% of graduates entering employment or further study within six months of graduation.

Professor John Joughin, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, believes the Media Factory will enhance this hugely impressive success rate.

He said: "Our creative students now have a fully-equipped, state-of-the-art building dedicated to providing realistic exposure to the media world. From the industry standard Apple Mac suites to the green room in the production studios, we have spared no expense to create the very best facilities for UCLan students, and we expect the Media Factory to reinforce our reputation for creative excellence."

Within the Media Factory's state-of-the-art business incubation facility UCLan, graduates with creative business ideas will grow their enterprises alongside other university graduates and entrepreneurs from across the North West.