Monday, 20 January 2020
Nottingham’s two world-class universities have launched a pioneering collaboration to help change the lives of local people for the better, as independent research reveals that every 22 seconds someone in Nottingham interacts with one of the city’s universities.
The Universities for Nottingham initiative will bring together the strengths and expertise of Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham.
The ambition of the universities is to work with local partners to design and deliver programmes around five themes, which will create transformative change for the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
These themes are:
- Economic prosperity
- Educational opportunity
- Environmental sustainability
- Health, wellbeing and culture
- Making our universities work for our communities
Independent analysis as part of Universities for Nottingham has revealed the scale of the combined social and economic impact of the universities.
For example, through their activities and supply chains, they add £1.1 billion to the economy in Nottingham and £3.8billion to the UK economy every year. That impact supports 25,000 jobs across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Together, the universities would be the third largest employer in the region.
Each year, the universities work with around 35,000 young people from 150 schools across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. This academic year they will spend £33million on activities to get more people into university and support them whilst there.
Ahead of the launch, the universities heard from some of the children, young people, creatives, businesses, innovators, patients and policymakers who have benefited from their interactions with the institutions.
Universities for Nottingham
Olivia Swift, Founder of Lotus Maternity Ltd, a business supported by innovation programmes at both universities, said: “There’s so much support for businesses like mine at the universities – from help with website development to fashion branding and marketing. I’m proud to be a Nottingham business through and through.”
Abdulhameed Elgareidi, a school pupil on the Laureus Sport for Good Programme run by volunteers from both universities, added: “I really enjoy working with the university students because they teach us new things and sometimes we get to teach them new things.”
A separate exercise mapped the areas of work which were complementary, showing where there was greatest potential for more strategic collaboration and helping to shape the five focus areas.
Professor Edward Peck, President and Vice-Chancellor, Nottingham Trent University, said: “As the Vice-Chancellors of Nottingham’s Universities, we agreed to commence the Universities for Nottingham project because, while both our institutions were making a significant individual contribution to the region, we recognised the potential for further collaboration.”
Once we started investigating the potential to deliver projects in the local area, the sheer scale and number of opportunities was striking.
We want to get the message across that our institutions are not solely for the researchers, teachers, staff and students who work here. We want to say clearly to the people, communities and businesses with whom we share a common place, that we are also your universities, the Universities for Nottingham.”
On Monday 20 January, at Nottingham’s BioCity, the universities will launch the project in front of an audience of civic leaders, businesses and community organisations as they set out to achieve their aim of creating the first Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement later this year. The agreement will help establish a programme of collectively agreed and publicly shared projects between the universities and partners, which will create transformative change for the area.
The initiative draws from the recommendations of the UPP Foundation Civic University Commission which looked at how universities can most successfully serve their place in the 21st century.
Support from local partners:
Sajeeda Rose, CEO, D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership: “The Universities for Nottingham initiative will make a real difference for the people and places of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire through collaborative and transformative change that will shape our region over the coming years.
“This unique opportunity will allow D2N2 to work in collaboration with the Universities for Nottingham alongside other local partners from across the private and public sectors on a joint programme of initiatives and activity to unlock our regions potential, grow our economy and help our local communities to thrive.”
Councillor David Mellen, Leader of Nottingham City Council: “I’m delighted to be taking part in the event on Monday, which will be a positive way to discuss how we can work together even more closely in the future.
“We already know the impact that our two world-class universities have on Nottingham, be it the cultural and economic benefits their students bring, or the employment opportunities for thousands of local people.
“This event gives us the opportunity to talk about how partners across different organisations can collaborate on projects for the wider benefit of the city.”
Councillor Kay Cutts, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council: “I am greatly encouraged by the joint working between our two, world class universities, and very pleased to be a part of the launch event for the Universities for Nottingham. The County Council enjoys excellent relationships with both the universities and we have helped shape this exciting new initiative, where the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University will join together, to work with partners across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
“I look forward to seeing a range of new ventures come forward, whether that is encouraging local young people into university, or putting research into practice across the public and private sectors. We are lucky to have such forward thinking universities on our doorstep, which are so willing to collaborate in this way”
Tracy Taylor, Chief Executive at Nottingham University Hospitals: “We already have a good relationship with both universities in teaching and training the next generation of healthcare professionals. This partnership also allows us to work together on research projects that will improve the future healthcare we can provide, not only to our patients, but others across the NHS. So we are really pleased to be involved in this partnership with the aim of improving the lives of local people and shaping Nottingham as a region leading in innovation.”
More information can be found at the website.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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