The acclaimed producer, whose work includes The Killing Fields, Chariots of Fire, Bugsy Malone and Memphis Belle, was at the Newton Park campus to officially open the site’s latest academic building, called Commons.
Lord Puttnam praised the facilities at Bath Spa, saying the new Commons would be the “envy” of universities across the world.
He said: “Having walked around Commons, the facilities are absolutely stunning. All of a sudden and for the first time in long time, I wanted to be 18 years old again and going to university, it is quite remarkable.
“I left the movie industry when it was still analogue and where you could look through the film, but this is a wonderful digital facility which is going to produce a lot of talented people.
“This is the sort of facility that any university anywhere in the world would envy.”