TALKING BUSINESS
CHAMPIONING KEY SKILLS IMPORTANT TO THE REGION
One of the UK’s most advanced universities for teaching and learning, which is leading the way in technology, innovation and social change, is right on our doorstep. We spoke to the University of Northampton’s vice-chancellor NICK PETFORD about its collaborations with global organisations and exciting plans for its home county.
The University of Northampton is conversely one of the UK’s oldest and youngest universities. When it was first established around 1260, it was the UK’s
third university after Oxford and Cambridge, and only the 22nd in Europe. However, Northampton’s popularity posed a threat to Oxford and it was dissolved by Henry III who signed a Royal Decree banning the creation of a university in Northampton. Fast-forward to 2005 and the Government overturned that
700-year-old law to establish today’s university with its full university status and research degree awarding powers. “After our 700-year sabbatical we became a
university in 2005 based on the skills needs of local people working in leather manufacturing,” explained vice-chancellor Nick Petford. “Our more recent roots come from the
interested in computer gaming. Multi-media journalism, Sports Science, Criminology, Music and Psychology are also topical and popular course offerings with a digital component.” Nowhere is this interest in digital transformation seen more
working men’s institutes and mechanical institutes of the 19th Century. You can see that in our new tannery in our Institute for Creative Leather Technologies which is the only teaching and research tannery in a European university. It’s rooted in the county’s boot and shoe trade heritage and provides us with a fantastic opportunity to further develop the leather industry in strong and environmentally friendly ways.” The leather industry is one of a wide variety of areas where
‘WE’RE KEEN TO SUPPORT FIRMS AND STUDENTS WHO HAVE GREAT IDEAS TO SOLVE SOCIAL ISSUES’
clearly than at the university’s £330m Waterside campus which opened in 2018. The smart campus is linked up to IoT (Internet of Things) and is installed with one of Cisco’s biggest Software Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN) in Europe. Nick said: “This is one of the most technically savvy pieces of real estate in Europe. The SD-WAN gives us unprecedented insight into how our estate works in real time and how to best manage energy, people and technology on site.” The university has built a strong reputation
in teacher training and health care sciences and is proud of the large number of nurses, midwives, occupational therapists, paramedics and podiatrists it has helped to enter the NHS. It also operates one of the UK’s three Competency Test Centres (CTC) for nurses and midwifes from overseas who want
to practice in the NHS. Its strong links with local health partners has encouraged the university to look at developing a
the University is at the forefront. Since 2017 it has been recognised as one of the UK’s best teaching universities, having received Gold – the highest possible mark – in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). It is also highly rated as a centre of postgraduate excellence, ranked fourth overall in the UK for research student satisfaction in the annual Postgraduate Experience Research Survey. It has also developed links with prestigious international
organisations, including the United Nations, and in recent weeks launched a Bloomberg Finance Lab in association with the global leader in business and financial data, news and insight. Nick explained: “Our Bloomberg Finance Lab consists of
computers that are linked to the stock market so students can access up-to-date financial information and software modelling packages. It’s a great resource and enables our finance, accounting and economics students to gain a real insight into how financial markets operate.” The University offers highly rated courses in traditional
subjects including History, English, Acting, Law and the Environment. But it is also taking advantage of the latest technology, a common theme running throughout the University estate. For example, the University has been heavily involved in Digital Northampton and finding ways to develop digital skills in the local population and students. “One way we’re doing this is through our courses in
Computer Games Art,” said Nick. “This is about the artistic content behind computer games and is a really interesting area for study. It’s a growing area for us and is linked with the digital transformation that’s taking place generally across businesses. Similarly, our new courses in e-sports will attract students
Dementia Care Village that would take advantage of Waterside’s technology. Nick said: “This would involve building residential units for
people with early onset dementia. It would reduce the pressure on Northamptonshire’s social services, provide an excellent opportunity for our student nurses and help us to find out how we can best use 21st Century digital technology to improve senior people’s quality of life.” Such projects fit in well with the University’s role as England’s
only Changemaker Campus. Changemaker is a social innovation initiative driven through a global US movement called Ashoka and means the University is part of a worldwide network of entrepreneurial students, faculties and community leaders who aim to make the world better through social innovation. Nick explained: “We’re keen to support firms and students
who have great ideas to solve social issues, such as homelessness, through business. The concept of businesses working to solve social issues is becoming more important as firms try to attract talent because young people want to know their work has purpose and helps society.” So with prestigious international collaborations, national
recognition, a new campus, an annual turnover of £150m, more than 2,500 staff and around 12,000 residential students as well as another 6,000 students working remotely in partnership colleges around the world what else is on the horizon for this award-winning university? “We’re also part of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc Universities
Group and we’re looking at how we can work more collaboratively with other universities in the region,” said Nick. “This will involve Arc partners working together on an exciting range of teaching and research projects linked to the Local Industrial Strategy.”
JUNE/JULY 2020 inbusiness 25
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