COLLEGE students will be enhancing their studies thanks to the donation of a robot from a leading manufacturer.

Darlington College has taken delivery of a state-of-the-art Mitsubishi robotic arm from Nissan UK designed to give students a hands-on experience of technology used in global manufacturing facilities.

College business development advisor Paul Clark said: “We are always looking to improve our course content and invest in new equipment to meet the needs of local industry.

“Manufacturing engineering is becoming ever more automated and we need to keep abreast of the changes and new production techniques to give our students exposure to the latest industry-related machinery."

Darlington College senior lecturer in mechatronics Steve Corner said: “Nissan has now given us an industrial robot, which is a very sophisticated piece of equipment, allowing them to gain an enhanced skill set which students outside of industry would not usually have access to.”

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman was shown around the new robotic department by engineering students Ambrose Bani, 17, James Jenkinson, 17 and Anthony Walker, 17, as part of Love our Colleges Week.

“We have been using a smaller robot since starting the course in September, but this is the first time that we have been able to get up close with the new industrial machine,” said James.