IMPACT
THE UNIVERSITIES AT MEDWAY:
REPORT
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INTRODUCTION The Universities at Medway is a unique partnership between Canterbury Christ Church University, the University of Greenwich, and the University of Kent at a shared campus at Chatham Maritime. The partnership was established in 2004 and in the 15 years since, it has made a real difference to the lives of people studying, working, visiting and living in Medway. In its role as an educator, employer, research institution, cultural and sporting hub, and community organisation, the Universities at Medway has a major impact.
Since 2004, it has grown to welcome more than 10,000 students to its campus each year. It provides a range of academic and professional learning opportunities, with a focus on education, health and social care, engineering, business, journalism and the creative industries. The Universities at Medway is a core part of the strategic economic development plans for Medway, supporting the area’s potential as a ‘city of culture, learning and enterprise.’
The Universities at Medway commissioned Viewforth Consulting to carry out a study of its economic impact during the financial year 2015/16. This report is based in part on the findings of this study and explores the positive impact that the Universities at Medway has on the social, cultural and community life of the Medway area and the south-east region.
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OUR IMPACT IN NUMBERS Economic impact:
Supporting local jobs:
More than
More than
contributed to Medway’s economy
FTE jobs in the south-east dependent on our activities and those of our students
1,587
£143m Growing the local economy:
Attracting medical talent:
Our students spend more than
Kent and Medway Medical School will attract
with Medway businesses and services
100
aspiring doctors to train and work in Kent and Medway each year
Investing in skills:
Helping our communities:
£158m
Estimated
£11m
added to Kent and Medway’s economy when the new EDGE Hub opens in 2020
£
More than
16,000
hours volunteered by students running societies and helping charities and the community
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THE UNIVERSITIES AND THE ECONOMY Overall the Universities at Medway and its students contributed £143.6m to the local economy during the financial year 2015/16. The universities’ activities on the Medway campus made up a substantial proportion of their incomes, at £82.5m in total. The three universities also made significant investments in 2015/16, with £82.7m spent on the Medway campus in that year, including on the development of new academic facilities and a brand-new student social and study hub at the centre of the campus. Through the educational programmes that it offers, the excellent and world-leading research that its academics carry out, and the investment that it both creates and attracts, the Universities at Medway helps to support the Medway towns’ ambitions. With its support, Medway can remain at the forefront of innovation and enterprise, continue to build on its reputation as one of the strongest engineering hubs in the south-east and become a respected and established home to the creative industries. The Universities at Medway actively supports Medway’s ambition to be a leading waterfront university city by 2035.
Knock-on effects Spending by the Universities at Medway creates a wider economic impact by delivering further ‘knock-on’ effects. The institutions purchase a range of goods from local and regional suppliers and those suppliers, in-turn, buy from other local organisations, creating a ripple effect that generates further economic benefits. Through that ‘knock-on’ effect, the Universities at Medway generated £107.1m of outputs for the south-east economy in 2015/16, supporting more than 1,587 full-time equivalent jobs in the southeast, in addition to those available at the Universities at Medway.
Staff and student spending The Universities at Medway is home to thousands of students and hundreds of staff who spend money on local services and goods. This offcampus spending supports a number of local businesses, from restaurants and taxi services, to retailers and leisure facilities. The personal spending of students in Medway, excluding what they contribute in university fees, is equivalent to £158.2m. More than £140m of this spend is brought into the Medway towns by students who come from outside of the local area. This includes spending by international students (from EU and non-EU countries), who contributed a total of £12.3m to UK GDP in 2015/16. Student spending supports more than 300 jobs in the Medway towns and a further 949 jobs in the south-east region.
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REALISING OUR SHARED POTENTIAL One of the driving forces for the founding of the Universities at Medway was a desire to open up Higher Education to as many people as possible and widen participation in university studies. In addition to supporting skills development among local people, it attracts students from other areas of the UK and from countries around the world to play a role in the area’s knowledge economy.
More than 10,500 Higher Education students are based at the Medway campus. The universities recruit 12 per cent of all students at the campus directly from the Medway area, with a further 41 per cent from other parts of the south-east, and 13 per cent from overseas. The Universities at Medway has successfully retained more than 1,200 students who might otherwise have left the area to study elsewhere. In addition, more than 22,000 young people with no previous experience of university within their family have taken part in outreach activities run by Kent and Medway Progression Federation (KMPF). It works with 40 schools in the area to raise attainment among young people and is backed by Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Kent.
More than 859 full-time equivalent jobs are generated by the Universities at Medway, with a further 343 jobs generated by student spending and activities, making a total of 1,202 jobs in Medway dependent on the Universities at Medway. This is equivalent to 1.7 per cent of all jobs in Medway. While many staff working at the campus are academics, the universities also provide employment in a wide range of skilled and semi-skilled professions and occupations, ranging from maintaining the campus estate as gardeners or plumbers, to providing professional services such as accounting and marketing.
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Boosting local science and engineering skills The new Kent and Medway Engineering, Design, Growth and Enterprise (EDGE) Hub at Canterbury Christ Church University will support high-value employment, growth and investment in engineering and technology businesses in Kent and Medway. A new facility will open in Canterbury in 2020 and is estimated to be worth up to £11 million a year to the local economy. It will add 1,250 more graduates with higher-level engineering and technology skills into the regional labour market by 2024. Delivered in partnership with industry, the Hub will help to address skills shortages in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and will support regional economic growth. It will build on Medway’s existing strengths as an engineering hub.
Robot Wars: Inspiring young engineers Engineering faculty and students at the University of Greenwich have found a novel way to inspire young people in the region to engage with engineering and science subjects. For the past two years they have designed and built a robot to join the battle to become champion of BBC Two television series Robot Wars. Building on the University’s world-leading expertise in engineering and robotic technology, the work to design and build the robots sits at the heart of the University’s outreach campaign to inspire more young people to consider a career in engineering. The Faculty of Engineering and Science engages dozens of schools in Medway and across Kent each year, with pupils taking part in a competition to design a robot to compete in an annual Robot Wars Live challenge, hosted at the Universities at Medway campus. University engineers work with shortlisted schools to build the robots ready for competition each September.
New routes into education: University of Kent Centre for Higher and Degree Level Apprenticeships Based at the Universities at Medway site, the University of Kent’s Centre for Higher and Degree Level Apprenticeships launched during National Apprenticeship Week in March 2017. The Centre leads and co-ordinates the University’s work with employers to deliver higher and degree apprenticeships in a wide range of professions including laboratory science, construction, business management, procurement and social work. The Centre has supported more than 90 apprentices over the last year, including school-leavers who are starting their working lives, and existing members of staff at the University who aim to increase their skills and gain a degree-level qualification whilst working in their current role. The Centre is a core part
of the University’s efforts to open routes into Higher Education to local people and to widen participation in the university experience.
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MAKING MEDWAY A PLACE TO BE PROUD OF The Universities at Medway is working in partnership with Medway Council and its business community to develop Medway’s place story, identifying what makes the Medway Towns distinctive. It fully supports the ambition to transform Medway into a vibrant waterfront university city by 2035. The universities are ambassadors for the local area, promoting the Medway towns to students and visitors from across the world. Students from outside of the region who attend the Universities at Medway bring family and friends to the area for day-trips or longer visits and many graduates return to the area as alumni, contributing to the local visitor economy.
A range of conferencing and events facilities provided by the universities attract hundreds of visitors to the area every year. Set in historic locations on the campus and the adjacent Chatham Historic Dockyard site, the conference facilities bring representatives from a range of sectors including academics, associations, and leisure and special interest groups to the region.
During the summer vacation period, between mid-June and mid-September, the universities also offer modern accommodation for up to 750 delegates at Liberty Quays, adding extra capacity to Medway’s peak summer accommodation offer for visitors. The creation of the Universities at Medway played a vital role in regenerating the Chatham Maritime area, preserving a key heritage site through re-purposing many of the existing buildings, including the old Drill Hall, in addition to revitalising redundant buildings at the nearby Chatham Historic Dockyard by putting them to educational use.
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Cultural transformation set to become a reality In an expression of its commitment to grow the creative industries and enhance Medway’s reputation as a cultural hub, the University of Kent and Arts Council England signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2018. They committed to widen access and improve the quality of arts and culture across Kent by working together to develop more opportunities for students, children and young people to get involved in the arts. This work focuses on supporting the growing creative clusters in Medway and North Kent to ensure that the region has the infrastructure and opportunities necessary to develop talent and offer creative careers. The University was also awarded £4.3m in funding from the Cultural Development Fund (CDF) to develop new creative, cultural and heritage initiatives to support the formation of a series of creative clusters stretching from
Thanet, through Medway to the Thames Estuary. The funding will support investment in infrastructure, research, training and business development within the creative industries. The initiatives will lead to the creation of 500 jobs, provide qualifications and skills development for 200 people, and fund 60 apprenticeship programmes for young people in the area. The University is part of a unique partnership established by the South Eastern Creative Economy Network (SECEN) which includes 11 local authority areas, the Greater London Authority, Royal Docks, seven East London boroughs, University of Essex, and cultural organisations Metal and Whitstable Biennale.
Creating a cultural and creative hub The development of the creative industries is vital to the vision for Medway’s economic growth. The Universities at Medway provides practical support and expertise for a variety of cultural activities in the area and has taken a leading role in establishing Medway as a creative hub. All three Universities at Medway institutions offer extensive programmes in the digital and creative arts. These programmes bring students and staff at the universities together with professionals from a range of disciplines within the creative sectors including film-makers, artists, performers, designers and journalists to provide real-world experiences that enhance students’ employment prospects and encourage them to remain in Medway after graduating. Academics at the three universities support a variety of activities in Medway, including running a series of public lectures where experts share
KMTV: Local news for local people The University of Kent and regional publisher KM Media Group established the UK’s first university-led local television station, KMTV, in July 2017. The station broadcasts local news, sport, business and entertainment coverage to more than 250,000 homes across North Kent and Medway. Content is sourced, created and broadcast by a dedicated KMTV news team of professional journalists supported by University of Kent students and KM group’s editorial team. Through KMTV, students get access to state-of-the-art broadcast technology, direct experience of professional practice alongside leading journalists, and the chance to develop contacts with the region’s leading media group.
their knowledge with members of the public, and taking part in the annual international Pint of Science Festival by bringing their scientific discoveries to the public with a series of events hosted in Medway’s pubs. Medway’s academic community also collaborated with Medway Council and its partners to make the commemorations marking the 350th anniversary of the Battle of Medway a spectacular success.
The KMTV partnership was runner-up in the Business Collaboration category at the Guardian Higher Education Awards and two of its journalists were recognised for excellence at the Kent Press and Broadcasting Awards in 2018. The project puts Medway at the centre of local news delivery for the region and its long-term ambition is to make KMTV the first choice for local news in Kent and Medway.
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RESEARCH FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT The Universities at Medway is a powerhouse for research and innovation that attracts millions of pounds of funding to the region. World-leading research is carried out at the Medway campus, with a particular focus on the fields of science, engineering and medicine.
The University of Greenwich’s research activities generated approximately £14m of income during 2016/17 and its Faculty of Engineering and Science, based largely at Medway, received a number of national and international research accolades in 2017. Canterbury Christ Church University’s Institute of Medical Sciences is a nationally-recognised centre of excellence for postgraduate medical education and research. It supports ground-breaking research in the use of stem cell technology within clinical practice. Medway School of Pharmacy has been awarded more than £3m of research and enterprise income since 2004 and more than 60% of the School’s research was rated of ‘very considerable’ impact in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF).
Whether by investigating new treatments for cancers and autoimmune diseases, developing new techniques to treat bone deformity using 3D printers, or using new technologies to improve the design of military vehicles and save the lives of soldiers in international conflict zones, the research carried out at the Universities at Medway makes a difference to the lives of people in our region, our nation and around the world.
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Cellular Imaging: advances in the treatment of kidney and bladder disease Work carried out by researchers at Medway School of Pharmacy has led to significant advances in the way that kidney and bladder disease is diagnosed and treated.
Carbon8 Systems: Cutting the world’s waste through CO2 capture Thanks to research led by the University of Greenwich’s Professor Colin Hills, Medway is home to a world-leader in the development of carbon-negative building materials. Carbon8 Systems is a multi-award-winning company led by Professor Hills, in association with research colleague Dr Paula Carey, in a spin-out from the University of Greenwich’s Faculty of Engineering & Science. Formed in 2006, the company successfully patented its innovative Accelerated Carbon Technology (ACT), offering a rapid and cost-effective carbon dioxide capturing treatment for soil and waste. It is now a world-leader in the capture of carbon dioxide, using industrial waste and contaminated soils to create carbon-negative building materials. The company is now working to develop the technology further to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and create a global portfolio of treatment plants combining CO2 with waste to reduce the amount of industrial waste going to landfill. Carbon8 Systems received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation in 2017 and has previously won the IChemE Green Chemical Technology Award, the national Shell Springboard prize and the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Contribution to Innovation and Technology.
Through the visualisation of cellular events in live tissue, researchers Claire PeppiattWildman and Scott Wildman developed new models for investigating kidney and bladder function in states of health and disease. Their findings have helped clinicians and physiologists to understand responses to drug-toxicity, and the onset and progression of disease. The imaging of live bladder tissue, adapted for bedside application, has already altered clinical practice within the NHS. And the technology could help to develop new drugs to treat kidney disease.
The Institute of Medical Sciences: developing future leaders in medical research Canterbury Christ Church University’s Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) is a centre of excellence for postgraduate medical education and research. It brings researchers together with leading surgeons and consultants and global companies to provide UK and overseas clinicians opportunities to gain high-quality education and training. The Institute’s specialist surgery programmes provide practitioners with enhanced clinical skills to help them stand out as leaders in their field. Since 2015, ground-breaking research in the use of stem cell technology within clinical practice and studies in biomedical engineering has been carried out at the Institute. It features a purposebuilt lab equipped to support world-leading discoveries in stem cell culturing, bioengineering, computing and 3D printing, as well as fully-equipped clinical simulation suites. The IMS is home to the University’s innovative MSc in Physician Associates Studies, offering a ‘fast-track’ medical school model. The Physician Associates trained at the Institute become skilled members of healthcare teams and are qualified to provide a wide range of medical services alongside licensed physicians. Academics from the Institute also work closely with the Health Education England Kent Surrey and Sussex GP Deanery to enhance and develop education and training and to instigate GP-led research and innovation in General Practice.
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OUR PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY The Universities at Medway plays an active role in the community within the Medway towns, engaging local schools and colleges, providing services to support local businesses, and through volunteering projects led by its staff and students, which benefit local individuals and organisations. Raising aspirations The Universities at Medway is part of the Kent and Medway Collaborative Outreach Programme (KaMCOP) and the Kent and Medway Progression Federation (KMPF). Both projects focus on facilitating participation in Higher Education by young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The projects’ activities include partnering with University Technical Colleges and multiacademy school trusts to share expertise and offer opportunities for local young people to experience university life. Schools from Medway attend summit events hosted by the University of Greenwich, medical fairs showcasing wideranging careers in health and medicine hosted by Canterbury Christ Church University, and lookedafter children events in partnership with the Virtual School, Medway. Schools that have benefited from activities by the Universities at Medway include; Strood Academy, Greenacre School, Walderslade School for Girls, Rainham School for Girls, Robert Napier, Thomas Aveling, John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive, Oasis Isle of Sheppey Academy, Westlands School and Waterfront UTC.
Brompton Academy in Gillingham is sponsored by the University of Kent, which provides a range of curriculum and progression activities to help young people consider, and get the most from, Higher Education.
Pride in Medway In 2017 the Pride in Medway Awards were hosted at the Universities at Medway campus. The awards highlight individuals and groups who make a difference to Medway. The universities contributed to the development, promotion and resourcing of the annual awards and have previously presented a sponsor’s award recognising exceptional voluntary service in the community.
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Volunteering The Universities at Medway’s new £4m Student Hub is a social space designed to enhance the student experience on campus, but also acts as a central organising point for an army of hundreds of student volunteers who regularly contribute in the community. More than 16,000 hours were recorded by students who volunteered through GK Unions’ schemes in 2016/17. GK Unions is a partnership between the students’ unions of the University of Greenwich and the University of Kent at Medway. In addition to running sports clubs and societies for fellow students on campus, the volunteers work with a number of Medway charities and community organisations. During the last year, students helped children at Burnt Oak Primary School with their reading and mentored children at Featherby Road School to help them interact more effectively in social environments. Volunteers worked with Kent Wildlife Trust to manage Darland Banks, an area of scientific interest in Gillingham, helping to clear scrubland and overgrowth to allow native species of flora to thrive. Students also helped to fill Christmas stockings with gifts for children at Dolphin Ward, Medway Maritime Hospital. In addition, Medway Raise and Give raised nearly £5,000 for 18 organisations including local charities such as Medway Autism Group and Information Centre (MAGIC) and Friends of Wisdom Hospice.
Reducing inequalities in health The Universities at Medway makes a significant contribution to the health and well-being of the local community through its activities in the fields of health, medicine and social care. In addition to the contribution that Medway School of Pharmacy and the Institute of Medical Sciences make to equipping healthcare professionals in the region with the skills and knowledge to make a difference within their specialism, the universities will deliver a new Kent and Medway Medical School to benefit the region. The new Medical School is a joint initiative between Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of of Kent, and will be co-located on their Canterbury campuses. Their shared vision is to create a beacon for first-class medical education and research. The new academic unit will attract the most talented aspiring doctors from within the local community and beyond, offering training and development opportunities that will help to keep that talent in Kent and Medway. It will offer 100 undergraduate places annually to support future workforce planning in our region and to address workforce shortages in priority areas by developing doctors in specialities that are currently under-represented in Kent and Medway. Its programmes will focus on addressing health inequalities in our region by plugging the current gaps in healthcare provision and, in the longer-term, transforming the patient experience within our local area.
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OUR PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY
Developing local health, social care and education skills Canterbury Christ Church University leads the development of local skills in Health and Social Care, Education and Early Years, which are vital to the regional and national economy. Its programmes cover every step of a practitioner’s career, whether new undergraduates starting their careers in public health services, or established clinicians looking to enhance their skills or to lead innovative new research projects. Undergraduate students on the University’s Nursing, Midwifery, Speech and Language Therapy, Operating Department Practice, Paramedic Science and Physiotherapy courses develop their skills within the fully-equipped health and wellbeing simulation suites housed on the Medway campus. The suites mimic the real-life experience of working on a hospital ward or within a clinical or emergency situation. Students also have access to highly sophisticated human simulation models to develop their hands-on skills. Each year hundreds of undergraduate students at the University take part in placements within Kent and Medway hospitals as part of their training, with many working within the local NHS Trusts after graduating. The University’s postgraduate and apprenticeship programmes are also extensive, enhancing current practitioners’ professional skills. Its MSc in Clinical Reporting delivers internationally-recognised research. The Foundation Nursing Associate apprenticeship programme, designed with and for the Medway Maritime Hospital, provides career development opportunities that align with local workforce needs. It provides local healthcare practitioners with the opportunity to earn while they learn, combining their work with studies that develop their skills.
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Medway Innovation Centre: boosting business growth The University of Greenwich partners with Medway Council to run Innovation Centre Medway, supporting knowledge-based start-up companies, innovative early-stage businesses and technology entrepreneurs to progress into mature, established organisations driving the economic growth of the area. As a delivery partner for the Enterprise Europe Network, which provides a free service to help businesses to find international partners, source new technologies and receive EU funding, the University plays a key role in supporting the growth of organisations based at the centre. It provides practical advice to companies on issues including intellectual property, international expansion, and EU law and standards. Further, it’s role within the centre helps to provide companies with access to academic expertise within their industry sector to help nurture new business ideas. Led by the University of Greenwich’s Head of Innovation Services, Medway Innovation Centre is the only centre in the South East to hold a Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) Quality Mark. The collaboration between the University of Greenwich and Medway Council that drives the centre partnership helps to advance Medway’s ambition to be a beacon for innovation and enterprise.
A sporting chance The University of Kent’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Medway offers professional sport and exercise-testing, psychology, respiratory and nutritional consultations, rehabilitation services and sports therapy to the public. The School’s experts have worked with a host of local sports clubs including Medway Dragons RFC, Medway Park Crusaders Basketball Club and both amateur and elite individual sportspeople. Medway Council’s multi-sport, state-of-the-art Medway Park sports facilities were also developed with the help of funding from the universities. The Park opened in 2011 and is a regional centre of sporting excellence that was a training site for a dozen Olympic teams prior to the London 2012 Olympics. Its extensive range of sports halls, dance studios, track and field
facilities, swimming pool and judo centre are open to members of the public as well as elite athletes.
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