Fuelling the regional economy IN BRIEF International recognition for iSchool innovator

A pioneering academic has been named the winner of an international award for her outstanding contribution to records and information management. Professor Julie McLeod, from Northumbria’s iSchool in the Department of Mathematics and Information Sciences, received the 2014 Emmett Leahy Award at the ICA Conference in Girona, Spain. Northumbria is one of only five universities in the UK, 18 in Europe and 59 worldwide to have been awarded the globally recognised status of iSchool. The iSchools organisation is a collection of Information Schools dedicated to excellence in advancing the information field. Julie, who is Professor of Records Management, has been a key figure in Northumbria’s iSchool and was presented with the award for her pioneering work in records management education.

Make mine a double!

An innovative eco project aimed at transforming former young offenders into environmental guardians has won two national awards in 24 hours. The Skill Mill Ltd, supported by Northumbria’s staff and students in partnership with Newcastle Youth Offending Team, picked up The Children and Young People Now Award for Youth Justice and the John Hawkins Award at the annual Youth Justice Convention. The initiative sees former young offenders trained to protect the environment and give back to their communities by carrying out water and land management projects such as stream clearing, which helps to reduce flood risks.

Dr Peter Glaves, Enterprise Fellow and academic lead for The Skill Mill at Northumbria, said: “To win one national award is impressive; to win two says a great deal about the innovative approach developed by the Skill Mill.”

For more information go to www.theskillmill.org

In his ‘Growth Review’ of the UK economy, published last year, former Government Minister Lord Adonis outlined how universities form a core part of the nation’s economic infrastructure through their worldleading education, science and research. They are also a key source of support for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) as they roll out their regional strategies. And through its economic footprint, and collaboration with business partners, Northumbria is making a significant and positive contribution to North East growth.

Northumbria is acknowledged as one of the top universities in the UK for supporting graduate entrepreneurs. In a recent example, a new Enterprise and Innovation Fund created by Northumbria raised tens of thousands of pounds at a launch event attended by world famous alumni including Sir Jonathan Ive, Senior Vice President Design at Apple Inc, and former Scottish rugby international Scott Hastings. The new Fund will encourage more students and alumni to engage in business start-up activity. It will provide access to seed-funding to establish and grow business ideas, undertake enterprisefocused work placements and enable access to proof-of-concept funding. Thanks to initiatives such as this and a strong focus on employability, Northumbria is currently the number one university in the UK for graduate start-ups based on turnover, according to the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction

Survey published in June 2014. Indeed, this next generation of entrepreneurs has built a combined turnover of £54 million, creating, in the past five years alone, more than 100 new companies and 800 jobs – many in the North East.

As a £226 million business, Northumbria is a major contributor to the North East economy in its own right. Annual procurement spend by the University is around £60 million, supporting up to 2,900 suppliers, around 1,000 of whom are North East businesses.

Then there’s the combined spending power of more than 27,000 campus-based students and over 3,000 staff. Most of these students live in and around Newcastle, including up to 4,500 international students, while 95% of staff live, work and spend in Tyne & Wear, Northumberland or Durham. Their presence helps to create and sustain jobs and prosperity for supply chain partners, local retailers and other service providers.

Furthermore, through a range of collaborative partnerships the University is helping local businesses innovate, expand and compete globally.

Through the new INNOVATE centre at Gateshead’s Northern Design Centre, for example, Northumbria connects businesses with its leading academics and students. One of the facility’s main distinguishing strengths is how easy it is for businesses to access – it offers multi-disciplinary expertise and world-leading research, all through one door and under one roof. Bringing the right people together like this is proving a creative way to innovate, solve problems and deliver solutions for a range of partners in the public and private sectors. It also presents a wealth of career-enhancing collaboration opportunities for students and staff.

Beyond the North East, Northumbria’s regional impact reflects the role played by Higher Education nationally. In a recent report entitled The Impact of Universities on the UK Economy, it is estimated that the sector directly contributes around £18 billion to UK GDP each year. Furthermore, for every 100 full-time jobs created within universities, another 117 are generated in the wider economy through knock-on effects. The report says that in 2012 universities in the UK generated revenues of almost £30 billion, with overseas income from international students reaching almost £5.7 billion. University expenditure in the same period was £26.7 billion, largely through the employment of more than 378,000 staff.

Northumbria offers a range of courses for the next generation of entrepreneurs, including our innovative Entrepreneurial Business Management degree.

Discover More

To find out more go to: northumbria.ac.uk/sgenterprise

Arming students with world-class skills

A scheme that brings together Northumbria’s engineering excellence with the best and brightest talent from the Armed Forces and Civil Service has been renewed for a further five years. Northumbria is one of only 12 universities in the UK to run the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (DTUS). This initiative sees the Ministry of Defence (MoD) sponsor first degrees in engineering and information science disciplines for future technical officers in each of the three Armed Services and the Civil Service.

Professor Andrew Wathey, Northumbria’s Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, and MoD Defence Academy Operations Director, Colin Evans, signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to continue DTUS for another five years.

The DTUS scheme gives recruits destined for a career in the forces access to Northumbria’s courses in Mechanical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, and Computing, as well as opportunities to broaden their university experience through paid work placements, adventure training and sport.