Sheffield Hallam University launches Heart of the Region campaign

People are being invited to share their views on how Sheffield Hallam University can better support its communities.
The Heart of the Region campaign will help the university better understand what its communities want it to be delivering.The Heart of the Region campaign will help the university better understand what its communities want it to be delivering.
The Heart of the Region campaign will help the university better understand what its communities want it to be delivering.

The university launched its Heart of the Region campaign on Monday, November 18.

It includes a short survey asking how it can improve support for communities from Doncaster to Derbyshire.

Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, said: "Sheffield Hallam has a vital role to play in the development of our region.

Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University.Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University.
Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University.

“We develop skills, we nurture innovation and we transform lives – but we also have an incredibly important civic responsibility.

"We want to be a beacon for what a university can do for and with its community.

"By taking part in a short survey, you can help us to understand how we can better support communities.”

The new campaign is part of Sheffield Hallam’s commitment to produce a Civic University Agreement by summer 2020.

Produced in partnership with local communities and regional partners, the agreement sets out how the university will work with others to help tackle some of the pressing issues and challenges facing the area.

Sheffield Hallam was one of the first universities in the country to sign up to the scheme – a key recommendation of the Civic University Commission.

A report by the commission earlier this year set out how universities have the capability, opportunity and responsibility to support the places where they are based.

It argued they can help solve some of their region’s most pressing problems.

Target areas include helping local businesses adapt to technological change, boosting the health of local people, improving education for school pupils and adult learners, and training and developing new civic leaders in every field from politics to the arts.

The Civic University Commission was set up by the UPP Foundation and is chaired by Sheffield Hallam's chair of governors Lord Bob Kerslake.

Sheffield Hallam was referenced in the commission report for its social mobility programme, South Yorkshire Futures.

The programme, backed by the Department for Education, is committed to improving education and raising aspiration for young people in South Yorkshire – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Other regional projects include helping people lead healthier and more active lives, developing local SMEs and businesses to drive economic growth and meeting the region’s skills and workforce.

Work on the new Civic University Agreement began earlier this year with staff workshops and a scoping exercise to capture the range of activity at Sheffield Hallam.

The Heart of the Region campaign is the next phase of the project, which will help the university better understand what its communities want it to be delivering.

To have your say visit www.shu.ac.uk/region.