Universities are key to delivering the sustainable growth the UK needs, and nowhere more so than here in North East England where, a recent report found, research-intensive universities have helped unlock nearly £100m of investment in the region. In her monthly column, our Vice-Chancellor Professor Karen O'Brien explores how we can continue to help unlock the full potential of our region.
It was pleasing to hear the Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds tell the inaugural North East Growth Summit, held in Sunderland earlier this month, that universities make a ‘brilliant contribution’ to the region.
We’re determined to do more still, and have recently formed Universities for North East England, with counterparts at Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside, in order to strengthen our collective efforts to drive economic growth, and make higher education accessible to students from the region, regardless of their background.
At Durham, we’re already working more closely than ever with local schools and colleges to expand education opportunities and make a positive difference to people’s lives.
We have begun welcoming students on T-level placements, for example, and some of the first cohort have since joined our staff as apprentices.
This is one indicator of the new education and career pathways being developed through the Durham Learning Alliance, a partnership between ourselves and four County Durham further education colleges.
This month also saw us formalise our partnership with ORE Catapult, an organisation that is supporting the region’s ambitions to grow the renewable energy sector.
We’ve worked with ORE Catapult for more than a decade, and following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, we’ll be working even more closely together – collaborating in areas such as research and innovation, skills development, and business engagement.
We look forward to the partnership unlocking further exciting research projects and helping train the next generation of world-leading renewable energy experts right here in County Durham.
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