February 2019 highlights
Week of 25th of February
The 2018/19 Winter issue of the YU Newsletter is out now
You can download the below images by clicking on them:
Time limited funding call. Closing date 11 April 12:00
For proposals of between £500k and £1.5m
Overarching government priorities for UEZs. Further information here on RE website.
BEIS case studies
The Industrial Strategy related case studies you provided have started to go live on the Industrial Strategy Case Study map. The map will soon move to the main Industrial Strategy page on GOV.UK, which gives great exposure for some of the fantastic work being undertaken by YU members. In the first wave we got the following examples included:
This report looks at university-business interaction at the LEP level using several different statistical measures. Download the report here.
To loosen the grip of poverty for people stuck in low-paid, poor-quality work, or unable to find a job, Local Industrial Strategies must have inclusive growth at the heart of them. Read the article from Mike Hawking here.
This report provides important information on how UK institutions pool financial resources to deliver a diverse range of activities, and - for the first time - illustrates the range of financial performance as reported in the Transparent Approach to Costing. It provides a detailed understanding of how institutions plan financially for the medium term, to sustain activities and deliver public benefit.
UK2070
Most recent additions to the weekly publications are:
Regional inequality is a dominant feature of the UK’s current economic landscape. Power and prosperity are concentrated in London and the South East, while other areas of the UK experience lower levels of output and productivity. Poverty and inequality still exist in London, but such a concentration of wealth is not found in any region outside of the capital. Download the report here.
Guest post by Dr Grace Lordan, Associate Professor of Behavioural Science at London School of Economics.
Over 40 leading universities pledge commitment to local communities
Following the launch of Truly Civic: Strengthening the connection between universities and their places there are now over 40 vice-chancellors who have committed their universities to develop civic university agreements – one of the report’s key recommendations. Read more here.
Week of 18th of February
Next generation of artificial intelligence talent to be trained at UK universities
Thousands of graduates to become qualified experts in artificial intelligence (AI) as part of a new joint government-industry package to drive up skills in the AI sector, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright announced today.
For the first time, the UK will have a nationwide programme of industry-funded AI Masters courses coupled with work-based placements.
The new skills and talent package is a major milestone of the modern Industrial Strategy’s AI Sector Deal which was launched in April 2018. It is supported by industry funding and up to £110 million Government investment, including:
- Up to 200 new AI Masters places at UK universities funded by companies such as Deepmind, QuantumBlack, Cisco and BAE Systems. The Masters programme marks the first nationwide effort to address the skills gap at this level, in collaboration with the Industry of Coding and British Computer Society.
- 1,000 students will have the opportunity to enhance their skills with new PhDs at 16 dedicated UK Research and Innovation AI Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs), located across the country.
- Up to 5 AI research Fellowships, created in collaboration with The Alan Turing Institute to both attract and retain the best research talent from around the world.
The announcement comes as new figures prepared for Tech Nation by Dealroom.co reveal the number of venture capital investments into the UK’s rapidly growing AI sector leapt by 17% last year.
Find out more here: Gov.uk press release, DCSM gives further details of HEIs involved
We are particularly interested in existing studies and research relating to:
- Productivity performance, driving factors and the role of infrastructure
- Meeting skills needs in a diverse regional economy
- Innovation capacity and diffusion
- Ensuring the benefits of economic growth are enjoyed by all
- Future social, environmental and economic trends
- Understanding and evaluating impact
- The strengths and opportunities that are unique to our economy
- Regional strengths in relation to the Grand Challenges
Please submit your evidence, including details of who carried out the work, to research@westyorks-ca.gov.uk by 31st March 2019.
Research England: Universities delivering the Industrial Strategy
Higher education sector overview of the plans of universities to use additional Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) allocations. Download the full report here.
Labour reveals lifelong learning commission panel
The Labour Party has announced the 14-strong panel for its commission to look at ways to boost lifelong learning. The commission will bring together 14 experts from across education and will be co-chaired by former Labour education secretary Baroness Morris of Yardley and the general secretary of the Communication Workers’ Union, Dave Ward. Read the full story here.
Driving social mobility? Competitive collaboration in degree apprenticeship development
Guest blog by Claire Newhouse, Head of Apprenticeships and Skills, Leeds Trinity University
Degree apprenticeships present an opportunity for universities to contribute directly towards improving productivity by increasing the number of people in local and regional economies with higher-level skills. They offer a new income stream for universities, but they also provide a means for diversifying HE entrants. The dual role for apprenticeships, as a mechanism for boosting productivity and enhancing social mobility, is not without tension, although it can, at times, be taken for granted by government. Read blog in full here.
Week of 11th of February
Now over forty universities have signed "civic agreements" that aim to reaffirm their role in their local communities, according to the final report of the UPP Foundation's Civic University Commission, concluding its six-month inquiry. The Civic University Agreement includes four key points:
- Understanding local populations, and asking them what they want. Analysis of their place and people’s priorities are essential.
- Understanding themselves and what they are able to offer.
- Working with other local anchor institutions, businesses and community organisations to agree where the short, medium and long-term opportunities and problems lie for communities. Linking with local authorities and other local plans, such as the local industrial strategy is particularly important.
- A clear set of priorities. A process of agreeing clear priorities will therefore be necessary and, again, this is where collaboration and aligning resources with local authorities, LEPs (Local Economic Partnerships), NHS bodies and the like can help to identify the live issues that universities can most usefully help with.
Signatories of the Civic University Agreement include:
- Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam University
- Professor Koen Lamberts, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Sheffield
- Professor Susan Lea, Vice-Chancellor, University of Hull
- Professor Saul Tendler, Acting Vice-Chancellor and President, University of York
Andy Westwood reviews the final report and argues that this moment is too important for universities or government to miss.
Universities Minister, Chris Skidmore spoke at the launch of the UPP Foundation Civic University Commission's report, looking at the value of universities to their local areas: read the speech here.
AND the animation to explain all of the above.
The Evolving Economic Performance of Britain’s Cities Patterns, Processes and Policy Implications
13 February event brought together the findings of a major ESRC-funded research project on the economic performance of British cities over the past 50 years. Download the report here.
Westminster Social Policy Forum Keynote Seminar: The future for LEPs and priorities for developing Local Industrial Strategies publication
Please get in touch if you would like to have a copy to read.
This also happened this week: Leeds Key to the North backing for HS2 and station ambitions
- Leeds Key to the North aimed at supporting the city’s ambitions for Leeds Station and securing HS2, the first railway to be built north of London in 100 years.
- Delegation of business and civic leaders attended Parliamentary event with Rail Minister, Andrew Jones MP and Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald MP.
- Business leaders calling for the Government to back the short, medium and long-term aspirations for the nationally significant infrastructure project
Week of 4th of February
Research England selects Knowledge Exchange Framework pilot group
Research England has selected 21 English universities to take part in a pilot Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF), which will run between February and May 2019. Read more here.
Think Piece on the UK’s regional disparities and development published by Dr. David Nguyen of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research
The third paper of the UK2070 weekly series, is the Regional disparities and development in the UK written by Dr. David Nguyen, a Research Economist in the Trade, Investment and Productivity Directorate at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). The report uses data to show how the UK’s regional disparities have varied over time from the 1960s to the present day; before seeking to model the ‘under-performance’ of regions in order to establish what a ‘spatially rebalanced’ region may look like. Read it in full here.
Prime Minister Theresa May last week met with Local Enterprise Partnership leaders to discuss our modern Industrial Strategy. In this post, Dave Axam of Enterprise M3 explains why it’s so important for us to invest in our people and businesses as we leave the EU. Read here.
Higher-level skills for the future
Guest blog by Professor Tim Thornton is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Huddersfield
One of the key strengths of the Leeds City Region is its unique concentration of world-class universities, and the diverse contributions that each makes towards the higher-level skills and innovation agendas. As part of the wider Yorkshire region, Leeds City Region can rightly-claim to be a ‘skills magnet’, which is able to attract new forms of inward investment and act as a seedbed for regeneration and growth. Read it here.
The purpose of this report is to consider how we can radically increase the ability of our cities to use culture to drive inclusive growth. The value of culture to our civic life is now indisputable. There is a great opportunity to release reserves of untapped potential in our cities through investment in culture. Culture can help our cities to define a shared vision for the future, to promote innovation and positive change in our businesses and institutions, to equip communities to deal positively with change, and to realise more equitable opportunities for all individuals to succeed. Read the full report here.
London, UK: Strengthening ties between capital and country
As the political, financial and cultural centre of the United Kingdom, is London too dominant? This report explores how London's relationship with the UK has changed and sets out new thinking on how the capital can better connect with its nation state. Read online or download report here.