August 2020 highlights

News stories

• Over August Leeds College of Music changed its name to Leeds Conservatoire and the University of Leeds has welcomed its new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simone Buitendijk.

• International students will be eligible for all UKRI-funded postgraduate studentships from the start of the 2021/22 academic year. (20 Aug)

• Innovate UK launched a four-year design strategy (20 Aug): that seeks to encourage and support excellent design in innovation. Read it in full here: ‘Design in Innovation strategy, 2020-2024’.

• N8 launched its Net Zero North Programme that will drive innovation for a net-zero recovery from the coronavirus, to unlock new business opportunities and create jobs in the green economy in the Northern Powerhouse. Read the briefing and watch the NZN introductory webinar here.

• KTN launched its ambitious five year strategy (18 Aug): that commits to focus not only on economic prosperity but also on societal and environmental benefit, starting with the goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.

• Research England has published further details of QR and Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) allocations for 2020-21, including provider level allocations (17 Aug).

• Strength in Places Fund (11 Aug): Seventeen new projects that will harness research and innovation excellence to boost local growth have been given early stage investment, including the Advanced Machinery & Productivity Institute (West Yorkshire and Lancashire).

• Open Covid Pledge was launched, to make intellectual property available free of charge for use in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and minimizing the impact of the disease.

Consultation responses

UK R&D Roadmap consultation:

• by Yorkshire Universities;

• by the Civic University Network.

BEIS post pandemic economic growth consultation:

• by Yorkshire Universities;

• by the LEP Network.

Reports & insights

UK2070 Papers - Series 1 and Series 2

The UK2070 Commission has set out a 10-Point Plan to tackle the regional inequalities that have blighted the UK for too long. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need for the Government to ‘think big’ if economic performance and social conditions are to be levelled-up across the UK. The UK2070 Commission is therefore preparing a report to the Government proposing a clear plan for levelling-up, with coherent priorities. It has received a great deal of support for this initiative, including a range of think-pieces, which it has therefore prosed to issue as the UK2070 Papers.

Local and regional development beyond COVID-19: Insights from CURDS’ research

This briefing highlights six key insights from studies undertaken at CURDS over recent years. While this research was undertaken before the COVID-19 pandemic, these provide important recommendations for policy making in its aftermath. Each insight is explored further in the reports referenced alongside them which can be accessed by clicking on the relevant weblink.

Health Devolution Commission - Building Back Health & Prosperity

Creative Industries PEC - Graduate motivations and the economic returns of creative higher education inside and outside the creative industries

"The creative industries have experienced a glorious decade punctuated by a challenging year. Over the last 10 years, the sector has grown at a rate more than twice that of the total UK economy and in 2018 contributed £111.7bn, accounting for 5.8 per cent of total UK GVA. Moreover, with the fourth industrial revolution in full swing, creative skills are set to be in high demand in the economy more generally with the number of creative jobs predicted to increase dramatically as AI and automation reduce the need for routine labour."

Data & analysis

Hatch Regeneris for UCU: Review of the contribution of universities to local economies

"Universities typically support up to one additional job in the immediate local economy for every person they directly employ, according to a new analysis by Hatch Regeneris for UCU. Universities are often among the largest local employers, with 19 UK institutions directly employing more than 5,000 people, and 10 of these accounting for at least 5% of all jobs in their local authority area. The positive effects of universities on local employment are compounded where cities host more than one institution. The review modelled universities in 25 cities and looked at the number of jobs they support and how they bolster local economies."

Related blog by Tim Fanning in WonkHE: 'The country really can’t afford for universities to contract'

Pearson: Global Learner Survey

7,000 people in 7 countries. In the second annual Global Learner Survey, see what learners want from education and work in the COVID era.

Blogs & articles

Public Sector Executive: 'Covid-19, systems thinking & future skills' by Dr Jo Cutter and Prof Chris Forde (Leeds Beckett Business School)

"Developing the right mix of education and skills provision is a perennial question for public authorities looking to ensure the right skills-mix for economic and social wellbeing. But how do we plan for and develop the skills we need, especially in time of crisis?"

WonkHE blogs:

• 'We need an Open Covid Pledge for education' Helen Beetham reminds us how much we can gain by sharing and reusing what we have learned about supporting education during the pandemic.

• 'Who gets squeezed out when places are restricted?' Omar Khan argues that unless we dramatically expand university places as demand increases, "levelling up" will prove harder than ever.

• 'For universities, persuading government post-Covid-19 will mean persuading voters' Rachel Wolf argues that government priorities post-Covid-19 are increasingly clear, and universities have a chance to influence if they respond now to the changing political landscape.

• 'Government must recognise the human cost to the crisis facing universities' As universities begin to take action to manage the financial impact of Covid-19, Jo Grady calls on government to stand behind the higher education sector.

• 'Asterix, Graduate Outcomes, and the squeezed student middle' Martin Edmondson highlights how difficult it will be to understand graduate employment patterns post-Covid.

Webinars

Y&H Public Health Network: 'COVID prevention and outbreak management in University and College settings' (12 Aug)

This regional webinar covering the key issues in preventing COVID-19 and managing outbreaks in the complex setting of a University or Further Education College. Drawing on relevant national guidance, local joint arrangements agreed between PHE and Local Authorities, and learning from work underway across Yorkshire and Humber to prepare campuses for student return. The challenges of prevention and control of infection will be set out, whether policy decisions such as face coverings and social distancing measures or reactive response to a case, cluster or outbreak within a setting.

Follow up materials below:

• Video of webinar (please note that this is only correct on the 12 August, guidance will change over time)

• Link to PowerPoint slides (please note that this is only correct on the 12 August, guidance will change over time) including slides from YU Chair Professor Shirley Congdon

Research England: 'Knowledge Exchange policy forward look' (6 August)

Below you can find the slide pack and a write up of the Q&A session. A recording of the webinar is also available until late November from this link.