Universities for North East launches to bring together five regional institutions

The North East’s two mayors have welcomed the launch of a partnership between the region’s five universities.

Universities for North East brings together Newcastle, Northumbria, Durham, Sunderland and Teesside universities with the aim of ensuring higher education is accessible to young people from the region, and to increase collaboration with with businesses and other organisations. The organisations collectively contribute around £2.7bn to the economy and support more than 30,000 jobs.

The organisation has been formally launched with an event in Newcastle, with a joint statement from leaders of the five universities saying joint working between them could help “unlock the full potential of our region and beyond.” That would include providing skilled workers for the region’s NHS and education systems, as well as key sectors such as green energy, advanced manufacturing, culture and creative, life sciences and digital.

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In a joint statement, the vice-chancellors of the five universities said: “We welcome the Government’s commitment to putting our world-leading higher education sector on a secure footing and delivering even greater value for money for UK taxpayers.

“As five independent institutions, we each bring unique strengths to the region. By working even more collaboratively through Universities for North East England, we will forge deeper connections with businesses and local communities to help unlock the full potential of our region and beyond.”

The partnership has been launched at a challenging time for higher education, with most of the universities in the North East either cutting jobs or considering job losses as they face higher costs and battle lower incomes from overseas students. The partnership will aim to “contribute to national discussions on sustainability and reform in higher education,” the universities said.

Reacting to the launch, North East mayor Kim McGuinness said: “Our five universities play a key role in the success of our region and of people who live, work and study here. This new partnership will ensure the North East’s higher education institutions are in an even stronger position to attract further regional inward investment, build our businesses, drive growth and create jobs now and in the future.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “The North East’s universities are vital to our region’s success, driving economic growth through world-class innovation.

“This new partnership is a great step forward. By strengthening this partnership, the North East will benefit from a strong unified voice that will be heard on both the national and international stage. I fully support this commitment to joined-up thinking, and I’m eager to work closely with the partnership to deliver even more opportunities and benefits for Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.”