Excellence with a purpose

Excellence with a Purpose A World-class Civic University

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Tackling Society’s Big Challenges

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Reinventing the Civic University The primary feature of a civic university is its sense of purpose – an understanding of not just what it is good at, but what it is good for.

It sees itself as delivering benefits not just to individuals or organisations, but to society as a whole. It means putting academic knowledge, creativity and expertise to work to come forward with innovations and solutions that will make a difference.

At Newcastle University our combination of academic excellence on the supply side, and a range of regional and

global challenges on the demand side, has led to a reinvention of the traditional idea of a civic university.

Through harnessing the enthusiasm, experience and expertise of groups such as the voluntary and community sectors, our staff and students, patients and businesses, Newcastle University is relevant and responsive to real-world challenges, be they global, or local, or a combination of the two.

Regional Roots, International Impact Newcastle University originated as a College of Medicine, established in 1834, and the College of Physical Science, founded in 1871.

The two colleges catered for the demands of a growing industrial city, providing the professional disciplines with well-skilled, knowledgeable graduates, who helped to stimulate the growth of Newcastle.

The Newcastle colleges merged to form King’s College in 1937. In 1963, following an Act of Parliament, King’s College became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and latterly, Newcastle University.

The success of the colleges – including the discovery of the correlation between cholera and dirty water and the first attempt to cure diabetes – were among Newcastle’s earliest examples of tackling society’s big challenges.

Cover image: The Social Renewal Societal Challenge Theme launched with a Lego exhibition highlighting current issues in urban design at the Great North Museum: Hancock 1 Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia students 2 Our Insights Public Lectures regularly attract large audiences

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A Focus on Local and Global Benefit The positive difference we make to the city of Newcastle and the wider North East is a critical part of our role as a civic university – but we go far beyond the local to make an impact on society globally.

As a truly civic university we do have a strong sense of place. This means that, while we operate on a national and international scale, we recognise the extent to which our location in the city of Newcastle helps to form our unique identity as an institution.

As the North East’s fourth largest employer, the University is an anchor institution in the economic and social life of the region, annually contributing almost £700 million to the regional economy and over £1 billion nationally.

We are committed to ensuring that our buildings, our campuses and our public spaces are designed in ways which improve the fabric of the city and can be enjoyed by local people. This is particularly true of our museum and art gallery – The Great North Museum: Hancock and Hatton Gallery are both free to the public and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

The Civic University in Action The best demonstration of our civic university role is in the development of our Societal Challenge Themes, under which we now group a significant part of our research.

Newcastle University’s three Societal Challenge Themes of Ageing, Social Renewal and Sustainability were chosen using three clear principles:

• firstly, they must be issues where we are able to contribute real expertise • secondly, they must be topics of major global interest but which have significant resonance in our own country • and finally, they must be areas in which we have developed genuine engagement with the public and stakeholder 3 4

communities, so that we have a deep understanding of the issues they face Our commitment to tackling these three big societal issues embodies our mission of being a world-class civic university.

Today the culture of ‘Excellence with a Purpose’ is embedded right across the University. The case studies overleaf are some of the many ways Newcastle University is fulfilling its role as a civic university with our research having global applications in improving people’s lives.

Grainger Town in Newcastle city centre UK schools competition winners aboard the University’s new research vessel, The Princess Royal

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Ageing The 85+ Project Newcastle University expertise is addressing the key issues of how we as a society can plan for the health and care needs of today’s and tomorrow’s populations, in order to improve health and quality of life in old age and minimise dependency.

A unique group of people living in Newcastle and Tyneside who were born in 1921 are helping researchers ensure that people stay healthy in their old age. They are taking part in the Newcastle 85+ Project, the most detailed study ever undertaken of the biological, social and medical factors affecting the health of the nation’s oldest people.

This unique study was started in 2006 by experts at the University’s Institute for Ageing and Health. It is the only one looking specifically at this age group, which is the fastest growing sector of the UK population, and is one of only a handful of studies worldwide looking at the oldest old.

One study area involving the group revealed a biological link to heart failure, with scientists discovering that telomere length – a biological marker of ageing – was strongly linked to the function of the heart. With increasing numbers of people reaching ever older ages, it is important that healthcare professionals across the globe will be able to predict which apparently healthy elderly people will go on to develop heart failure.

Social Renewal The Street Law Project Undergraduate students from Newcastle Law School are helping children and young people in the North East to understand their legal rights.

The Street Law Project sees students delivering discussion and awareness sessions to groups including child carers; looked-after children; children living in rural areas; children in custody; children from black, minority and ethnic communities; and those for whom English is not a first language. While the students won’t be giving legal advice about specific circumstances, they hope the sessions will

Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU United Kingdom

encourage more young people to consider the legal system and how it affects them. Importantly, the project will tie in with wider support services for young people, meaning that its legal content and advice is treated in a more holistic context, and supported by youth work partners and community organisations.

The team behind the Street Law Project met with a wide range of youth sector partners in 2011 to co-produce the content for the sessions. Together, they identified specific legal issues of relevance to children and young people in the North East, including domestic violence, the criminalisation of children’s behaviour and transitions into adulthood, such as leaving custody or care. The project is providing invaluable experience for the Street Law ambassadors, many of whom hope to practise family law in future.

Sustainability Urban Traffic Management The University’s Transport Operations Research Group (TORG) and experts in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering are leading research to monitor traffic and travel that will inform future traffic management schemes.

In collaboration with the local councils, the team installed pollution sensors across Newcastle and Gateshead. These sensors collect data about the levels of key gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere. The data is fed back in real time and is used to inform decisions about transport management. The technology has since been rolled out to other local authorities to monitor traffic pollution and help develop strategies to manage traffic flow and reduce emissions.

As part of this work, the team is working with the Urban Traffic Management Control (UTMC) centre, which is based in the University. The UTMC centre controls the road management operations of the five Tyne and Wear councils, including traffic lights, bus lanes, CCTV and traffic flow.

www.ncl.ac.uk

We would like to thank the following for the use of their illustrative material: J Donoghue; M Urwin; Z Wilson; Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia.

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