Through working even more closely together, the collective, to be known as Universities for North East England (UNEE), will enable the universities to make an even greater contribution to inclusive economic growth and social transformation.

The partnership, which will be launched later this year, seeks to ensure higher education is even more accessible to students, regardless of their background. At the same time it aims to ensure businesses and other organisations can work with the sector as easily as possible. 

It will work with the Tees Valley and North East Combined Authorities as a unified voice of higher education in North East England. 

Universities for North East England, consisting of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside universities, will build on many years of joint working and existing successful and wide-ranging collaborations already existing between the institutions.

In a joint statement, the vice-chancellors of the five universities said:

“As places of knowledge and innovation, our universities play a crucial role in driving regional economic growth as well as the educational, social and cultural success of our cities, towns and wider region.  

“The diversity of each institution and our extensive global, national and regional networks underpin the strength of our collaboration.

 “Through the enhanced impact of us working together we will make an even greater contribution to everyone who lives, works and studies in North East England.   

“Through Universities for North East England, we can strengthen our existing close partnerships and collaborations and act as a strong unified voice for the higher education sector and the North East region.”

Economic impact

Recent analysis by London Economics estimated that universities in North East England contributed £2.7 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy. This includes the economic activity generated by employing people, buying goods and services, and the local spending power of staff and students.

In addition to many research and educational collaborations, one example of the universities already working together for the region is Northern Accelerator, which supports researchers and businesses to spin-out academic research into commercial businesses. 

Since its launch in 2016, the Northern Accelerator partnership, which includes the five North East universities and the University of York, has seen spin-out businesses raise £102m in investment.

Raising aspirations

As part of the universities’ aim to raise aspirations, the North East Raising Aspiration Partnership (NERAP) supports young people from under-represented groups to think about their futures and how higher education can help them reach their goals. This is achieved through free workshops and activities for students in Key Stages 2 and 4, with additional support provided for young carers or those with care experience.

Another example is Pro:NE, a project between all five North East universities that aims to widen access and participation for racially minoritised ethnic students and staff in postgraduate research and strengthen the pathway into academic employment. All five universities are working together to increase access for home postgraduate students of colour with support in the areas of mental health, mentoring, development and admissions. Pro:NE has to date received over £2.5 million in funding from the Office for Students and partner universities.

The EPSRC NorthFutures Hub, a collaboration with five universities and seven NHS Trusts was successful in securing £4.17m from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to create a digital health hub for the North East and North Cumbria (NENC).

This three-year project aims to address unmet health needs in the NENC region, including health and nutrition for children and young people; mental health and wellbeing; monitoring of people before, during and following treatment beyond the hospital; wider application of virtual and augmented reality in training and delivery of clinical care; and ageing well with long-term conditions.