‘Universities play key role in county’s story’
LAST month I wrote about the importance of place in response to the Office for Place Places at Pace conference which was held at our University’s main Stoke-on-trent campus.
As a geographer, I understand the importance of placemaking as a driver for economic growth – attracting investment, tourism and businesses and ultimately fostering a vibrant and prosperous economy.
Therefore, I was delighted that this week we hosted the We are Staffordshire conference aptly titled ‘Staffordshire - A Place to Celebrate’.
Our university has been involved with We Are Staffordshire from the outset and we have seen the efforts that have gone into redefining ‘the Staffordshire Story’ over the last three years to put our county on the map and change perceptions.
In that time, the We Are Staffordshire team has cultivated a network of more than 250 ambassadors to champion the county and staged a series of events to focus attention on Staffordshire as a place to work, live, invest, visit, and study.
We Are Staffordshire has taken the county’s abundance of assets, brands and history and shaped them into a brave and bold narrative with the aim of stamping our Staffordshire identity more firmly into the minds of people far and wide.
Our story spans way beyond our borders and I am delighted to say Staffordshire University will continue its partnership with We Are Staffordshire, as we have pledged to be a patron.
We see it as part of our civic responsibility to engage with organisations and employers who can make a sustainable difference to our regional economy.
Our university has an important part to play in creating high-value jobs that our graduates can apply for, to drive productivity, innovation, and growth in specialist areas – and provide SMES with a vital stepping stone to succeed.
For more than 100 years, Staffordshire University has been at the forefront of innovation. It has championed emerging industries, pioneered new subjects, and placed digital technology at the heart of students’ learning.
As one of the largest providers of degree apprenticeships in the country, workintegrated learning is central to our aim to deliver a next generation education for students and to help them to climb the ladder of opportunity.
But more than that, we want to play our part in celebrating what many people accept is our county’s greatest asset – its people!
On May 1, Staffordshire Day, we will be inaugurating our next Chancellor – Major Levison Wood. The world-renowned explorer, who grew up in Forsbrook, is committed to championing our university – and our county – through his work as a presenter, best-selling author and photographer on his adventures and engagements across the world.
Next month we will again be taking the Staffordshire brand worldwide when we stage our second Tedxstaffordshireuniversity event.
A sensational line up of 10 speakers, all with connections to our county, will be filmed in front of an audience to voice the TED ethos of ‘ideas worth sharing’ to a global audience.
All the above plays a part in placemaking and at the very heart of placemaking are people and the contributions they make.
In my graduation speeches I often reference the contributions of Josiah Wedgwood and designer Clarice Cliff whose influence have helped to shape a county we can be proud of.
And their legacy lives on through the industrial, innovative, and aspirational people who are born and bred in our county and the people who choose to study and settle here.
This week Universities UK, the collective voice of universities, has launched its 100 Faces campaign which celebrates the stories and achievements of people who were the first in their family to go to university.
Among those identified as local heroes is recent policing graduate Ellie Bowers who now works as a police constable with Staffordshire Police.
Like 63 per cent of our intake, Ellie was the first in her family to go to university, and as well as proving to be an exceptional student, she has shown a passion for wanting to give back as a serving police officer.
A Keele graduate highlighted in the campaign is Ant Sutcliffe, the associate director and lead for Higher Horizons+.
Ant runs the Uni Connect Programme which involves young people aged 11-18 in a programme of free engaging activities aimed at increasing the numbers of young people in our county and beyond who progress to higher education.
At the conference, both Staffordshire and Keele universities discussed the pivotal role our institutions play in enhancing quality of life in our local communities.
And we are united in wanting to contribute to the next celebratory chapter in the Staffordshire Story.