What challenges do universities in the 21st-century face? How are learners’ needs evolving? And how are higher education (HE) institutions integrating vocational and real-world learning? On Wednesday, April 19, Edge hosted a webinar investigating how universities are adapting to meet the changing needs of learners, industry and society.
Chaired by HE policy expert Dr Helen Carasso, we welcomed three excellent panellists: Sir David Bell (Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Sunderland); Professor Ross Renton (Principal of ARU Peterborough, a new university for Peterborough); and Tom Sperlinger (Academic Lead at Black Mountains College in Wales). Their insights offer inspiration for any HE institutions seeking to adjust to a changing world.
The role of universities in driving local economic development
Our first panellist, Sir David Bell, is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sunderland. He explained that while many universities focus on competing with one another, it is better to focus on their unique strengths. Sunderland University, for example, has consciously chosen to target practical, vocational, and applied subjects, combining rigorous academic education with career readiness. This has involved making tough decisions. For instance, the university recently ended its history, politics, and modern languages courses. Making choices like this, however, has enabled the university to reallocate resources to areas where it can offer something unique; namely, a professions-focused curriculum.
Sir David explained that local needs and regional regeneration are driving Sunderland’s approach. Their strategy’s core objective is to provide students with an opportunity to obtain a quality degree and socially-purposeful job in the area, keeping them rooted in the region. Allegiance to home, family, community, and place, he suggested, is more powerful and sustainable than the ruthless pursuit of opportunity and high salaries, which can result in a talent drain to more affluent areas.
Launching a new university to improve social mobility
Next, we heard from Professor Ross Renton, Principal of ARU Peterborough, a new university that opened its doors in September 2022. Peterborough has long harboured ambitions of hosting an HE institution, and a partnership between the local and combined authorities and Anglia Ruskin University has allowed this to become a reality. The university primarily aims to address poor social mobility in the region while increasing local participation in HE. It will also meet employer demand for high skilled workers. Currently, the university is in phase three of a seven-phase launch.
One critical step has been the construction of ARU Peterborough’s first building. As the result of close work between architects and educators, it is designed using collaborative spaces that promote group work rather than conventional lecture halls. Furthermore, to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, staff members sit together, regardless of their vocational or academic background or subject area.
Meanwhile, the curriculum is co-produced with industry partners, with employers involved in assessment, and offering their facilities as additional learning spaces. In their first year, the university has launched four faculties and over thirty courses, with more than two hundred company partners making this possible. Community engagement is also a priority – the university’s first event welcomed 2,000 locals to experience the campus. Despite opening its doors just seven months ago, ARU Peterborough has already won an award for its impact in the region, a testament to its positive future.
Tackling the climate crisis through accessible, interdisciplinary learning
Our final panellist, Tom Sperlinger, is Academic Lead at Black Mountains College, an innovative rural institution under development on a 120-acre upland hill farm in Talgarth, Wales. Driving the college’s commitment to tackling the climate and ecological crises are three core principles: accessibility, place, and urgency.
The college strives to be as accessible as possible, offering open-access courses that require no prior qualifications. Their programmes also emphasise outdoor working, aligning with Wales’ Future Generations Act, which requires all public bodies to prioritise future generations’ well-being. The college also recognises the need for urgency when tackling the intersectional challenges that society faces, from climate change to economic upheaval and mass migration.
To achieve these objectives, the college offers a range of flexible short courses, validated FE programmes, and a single, open-access BA in Sustainable Futures: Arts, Ecology and Systems Change, which launches in September. This three-year interdisciplinary course combines theories of change, creative practice, ecological thinking, political economy and sociotechnical systems. In their final year, students will pursue a research project of their choosing, accompanied by a ‘change in practice’ module that allows them to apply this research to a work placement or civic engagement project. Ultimately, the college aims to empower learners to create a more positive future for the planet, upskilling them with the 21st-century skills they need to enter a wide range of professions, green or otherwise.
As our panellists demonstrated, HE institutions are already evolving to meet the changing needs of the modern world. As more institutions take up this task, emphasis on community engagement, industry collaboration, accessibility and place is critical if we wish to create a more hopeful and prosperous future.