Northern Lights: Commitments to the region to help the lives of people living and working here

In truth, we saw ourselves as a ‘civic university’ long before we put pen to paper on those pledges. Sheffield Hallam has been a university of place since its inception as the Sheffield School of Design some 170 years ago.

But it was Lord Kerslake, as chair of the Civic University Commission, who paved the way for universities across the country to reshape their role and responsibilities to support their communities – to become truly civic.

Lord Kerslake, who sadly died earlier this month, had an immeasurable impact on our region. Both as a visionary former Sheffield City Council chief executive but also as an exceptional chair of the University’s Board of Governors.

It was a privilege and a pleasure to work alongside him. He was passionate about helping Sheffield Hallam to progress, but also about the public good of universities.

During his time at Sheffield Hallam, he challenged us, and the sector more broadly, to embed community at the heart of everyday practice – to make a positive impact on the lives of people across our city and beyond.

It was a challenge we were glad to take on, and in July 2021, following consultation with the public and our stakeholders, we launched our first Civic University Agreement.

Over the last two years, our Agreement has provided us a strong direction for delivering local interventions that have had an impact on the economy and skills, education, health and regeneration in our region.

And while there is much further to go, we are proud of the progress we have made.

Delivering the first phase of our campus plan was a key commitment in our Civic University Agreement, helping to transform a key gateway to the city.

Walking up from Sheffield train station, you will see the transformation rapidly taking place at our Howard Street development.

Last month we reached the milestone of the highest point in the construction of the three new sustainable buildings.

These buildings will surround a new public green space for the benefit of everyone, not just our staff and students.

More than 400 construction workers are currently involved in the building of the Howard Street development and several of our students are undertaking placements and apprenticeships with our construction partners – supporting the regional economy and training the next generation of industry leaders.

Expanding our degree apprenticeship provision was another key commitment. In 2021, we pledged to offer at least 2,500 work-based degree apprenticeships by 2024. We have exceeded that target, with more than 3,000 degree apprenticeships currently studying with us.

We were also the first university in the country to offer a degree apprenticeship in physiotherapy, and we are working closely with businesses to launch new apprenticeships in industries where there are skills shortages including engineering, construction and digital.

One of our highest impact initiatives has been the partnership with Save the Children and Sheffield City Council to open a new nursery in Shirecliffe, a community in real need of quality early years provision.

The Meadows Nursery, which acts as an early years community research nursery, opened in April 2021 in the depths of the pandemic and has had a transformative impact on many families in the area – whilst helping to develop best practice nationally.

Through the partnership we have developed a parents’ breakfast club which acts as a safe environment for parents and carers to come and access support and advice as well as a nutritious breakfast. This nursery is truly part of the community it serves.

Another of our initiatives that address educational disparities in the region is supporting the expansion of the Children’s University across South Yorkshire.

This promotes participation in extra-curricular activities.

We are working towards the launch of the Children’s University in Barnsley later this year, ensuring more children across South Yorkshire have access to the activities and the social capital they provide.

As well as addressing educational inequality, we also focus on tackling health inequality. Last month we launched our ambition for a new Health Innovation Campus based at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.

The vision builds on the University’s presence at the site and includes an Advanced Health and Care Skills Centre, a Nursery of the Future, and the Sheffield Hallam Health Acceleration Programme.

We are ambitious about our role as a national leader in this area. We were chosen as the inaugural host of the national Civic University Network in 2020, a role we continue to fulfil.

Working with a strong network of partners, and with over 130 higher education institutions now signed up, Sheffield is at the forefront of leading this agenda nationally.

While progress has been made, we also know how much more there is to do, and the challenges that many of our communities face.

We are proud of our place at the heart of our city and region, and of the impact we continue to make.

But we are determined, alongside our partners and local community, to do more, and to make ‘civic’ an even stronger part of who we are and how we work.