Yorkshire universities win access to £10 million EU Funding
Posted on 31 March 1998
This week, the nine universities in Yorkshire and Humberside, together with the Leeds office of the Open University, learned that they had secured access to £10.5 million of European Union funding.
This collaborative scheme will include:
- A scheme for graduate placements in business
- A scheme to provide SMEs with speedy and efficient access to business support provided by the universities
- A training programme for employers working in emerging growth sectors IT support
- Assistance for SMEs in the recruitment and training of graduates
The funding, together with matched finance, will give a total value of in excess of £30 million for the two-year programme.
The bid, submitted under the auspices of the Yorkshire and Humberside Universities Association (YHUA), is another major success for the partnership that exists between the region's universities.
It comes on the heels of their recent £2.5 million scheme establishing a Metropolitan Area Network linking the region's universities. Running at 155 Mbit/sec, the computer network will be one of the fastest and most advanced in the world supporting learning, teaching and research.
To complete the partnership 'hat-trick', Professor Leslie Wagner, Vice-Chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University, joined the representatives of local authorities, businesses and others in the region to sign the charter on behalf of the ten universities establishing the country's first Regional Chamber.
YHUA is a partnership involving Bradford, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan, Lincolnshire and Humberside, Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam, York and the Open University and was formed five years ago to strengthen the sector's involvement in regional development activities.
In supporting innovation and technology transfer, the universities will be working closely with agencies such as other further and higher education institutions, TECs, Business Links and chambers of commerce. There will also be a strong focus on industrial sectors, in line with the Regional Innovation Strategy that has been developing in the region.
Announcing the success, Jeremy Walker, regional director of the Government Office for Yorkshire and Humberside, said:
'YHUA is a unique organisation which, with the help of European funding, is making a significant contribution to the economic development of the region.
'It makes sound economic sense to give small businesses access to the skills and technological resources of some of the country's leading universities. But this is a two-way process and it is also beneficial for students to come into contact with businesses which have not always attracted a high level of graduate entrants.'
'By planning and acting together, respecting differences but building upon common interests, the region's universities are playing a leading role in Yorkshire and Humberside's developing regional agenda'.
Notes to editors:
- The YHUA Action Plan, submitted in January 1998, was approved at the meeting of the Programme Monitoring Committee on 23 March. The Plan, which combines all nine universities (Bradford, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan, Lincoln and Humberside, Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam, York) plus the Northern Office of the Open University, is for business support measures under EU Objective 2 Funding.
Among other actions, it will establish a 'UNILINK' office that will allow easy access for SMEs to the region's HE knowledge base. It will also have a significant sector-based focus that will link firmly with the Regional Innovation Strategy being developed by business in the region. - The Regional Chamber marks the next stage in the development of the Regional Assembly for Yorkshire and Humberside (RAYH), which was formed in 1996 by the twenty-two local authorities in Yorkshire and Humberside. In addition to twenty-two local authority representatives, the new Regional Chamber will include representatives from up to a dozen key regional stakeholders, including universities. The Chamber will work alongside the Regional Development Agency, which is due to be established next April, in promoting the economic, social and environmental well-being of the region.
- Yorkshire and Humberside Universities Association (YHUA) was formed in 1993 with the intention of strengthening the universities' involvement in regional development. With a network of key sector committee and practitioner groups, it has become the key agency for the universities involvement in regional public and private agency linkages.