Guests of Honour: Jacqui Ward, Deputy Director, Cities & Local Growth Unit; Kevin Richardson, Local Growth Expert Adviser, HEFCE and Brhmie Balaram, Researcher, Public Services and Communities, RSA
It is being held against a backdrop of political consensus on decentralising power to major city regions in England, and will be informed by HEFCE's annual Higher Education-business and community interaction survey which examines the exchange of knowledge between universities and the wider community. The agenda also draws upon the RSA report, UniverCities: The knowledge to power UK metros, which made recommendations for universities to enhance their economic impact on their surrounding areas.
Delegates - including universities, businesses, local government representatives and national policymakers - will discuss universities' engagement with Local Enterprise Partnerships and priorities for engaging employers in course design to match graduate skills with local needs, increasing work placements and sandwich courses, and strategies for retaining graduates in the local economy. They will also discuss universities' role in supporting established local businesses - and staff and graduate entrepreneurs - with mentoring, seed funding, consultancy, training and providing facilities.
Further key topics for discussion will include how universities can increase their activity in innovation and knowledge exchange with local businesses, particularly SMEs, and what more can be done to support local economies that lack major Higher Education institutions in order to avoid disadvantaging these areas.
We are delighted that Jacqui Ward, Deputy Director, Cities & Local Growth Unit; Kevin Richardson, Local Growth Expert Adviser, HEFCE and Brhmie Balaram, Researcher, Public Services and Communities, RSA have agreed to deliver keynote addresses at this seminar.
Maddalaine Ansell, Chief Executive, University Alliance; Simon Bond, Innovation Director, SETsquared; David Cairncross, Senior Policy Adviser, SMEs and Innovation, CBI; Professor Eleanor Hamilton, Programme Director, Wave 2 Growth Hubs, Lancaster University; Dr Sophie Laurie, Head of Innovation, NERC; Ken Lee, HR Director, BBC North; Anne Marie Mountifield, Chief Executive, Solent Local Enterprise Partnership; Dr Helen Simpson, Reader in Economics, Bristol University; Janet Smith-Harrison, STEM Programme Manager, University of Bradford; Professor Brian Tanner, Dean for University Enterprise and Professor of Physics, Durham University and Mairi Wickett, Managing Director, WITT Energy have also agreed to speak.
It is being held against a backdrop of political consensus on decentralising power to major city regions in England, and will be informed by HEFCE's annual Higher Education-business and community interaction survey which examines the exchange of knowledge between universities and the wider community. The agenda also draws upon the RSA report, UniverCities: The knowledge to power UK metros, which made recommendations for universities to enhance their economic impact on their surrounding areas.
Delegates - including universities, businesses, local government representatives and national policymakers - will discuss universities' engagement with Local Enterprise Partnerships and priorities for engaging employers in course design to match graduate skills with local needs, increasing work placements and sandwich courses, and strategies for retaining graduates in the local economy. They will also discuss universities' role in supporting established local businesses - and staff and graduate entrepreneurs - with mentoring, seed funding, consultancy, training and providing facilities.
Further key topics for discussion will include how universities can increase their activity in innovation and knowledge exchange with local businesses, particularly SMEs, and what more can be done to support local economies that lack major Higher Education institutions in order to avoid disadvantaging these areas.
We are delighted that Jacqui Ward, Deputy Director, Cities & Local Growth Unit; Kevin Richardson, Local Growth Expert Adviser, HEFCE and Brhmie Balaram, Researcher, Public Services and Communities, RSA have agreed to deliver keynote addresses at this seminar.
Maddalaine Ansell, Chief Executive, University Alliance; Simon Bond, Innovation Director, SETsquared; David Cairncross, Senior Policy Adviser, SMEs and Innovation, CBI; Professor Eleanor Hamilton, Programme Director, Wave 2 Growth Hubs, Lancaster University; Dr Sophie Laurie, Head of Innovation, NERC; Ken Lee, HR Director, BBC North; Anne Marie Mountifield, Chief Executive, Solent Local Enterprise Partnership; Dr Helen Simpson, Reader in Economics, Bristol University; Janet Smith-Harrison, STEM Programme Manager, University of Bradford; Professor Brian Tanner, Dean for University Enterprise and Professor of Physics, Durham University and Mairi Wickett, Managing Director, WITT Energy have also agreed to speak.
