THE University of York has signed a pact with other universities in Yorkshire to boost the economy of the region.
A pioneering partnership to strengthen the role of universities in the regional economy has been forged by Yorkshire Forward and the Yorkshire and Humberside Universities Association (YHUA).
Yorkshire and Humber's nine universities contribute about £2 billion to the region's economy as employers, employment generators, importers of students and creators of knowledge and skills. Together they provide ten per cent of the country's graduates, with 40 per cent of them qualifying in science and technology-related subjects.
The new strategic alliance aims to contribute to the Regional Economic Strategy by raising awareness of the joint achievements of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Yorkshire Forward, and by demonstrating examples of good practice that promote economic growth.
This includes working together to increase business start-ups, particularly through higher education spin-off companies and university-led start-ups .
The alliance is also pledged to attract inward investment by matching the needs of potential investors against their research and technology strengths, skills, training provision and other facilities, just as Sheffield University did when it attracted Boeing to Waverley in South Yorkshire.
The YHUA has seconded Richard Keegan to work with Yorkshire Forward, encourage entrepreneurship among undergraduates and share good practice across the growing network of commercial managers within universities in the region.
Yorkshire Forward chairman Graham Hall, who signed the strategic alliance with the YHUA at Bretton Hall, near Wakefield, said: "We have a world-class standard of higher education research in the region - the top rate research into bioscience in York, e-commerce at Leeds University and mechanical engineering at the University of Sheffield are just three superb examples.
"Businesses in the region are reaping the benefits of high quality vocationally educated graduates as well as taking advantage of university spin-off organisations that provide expertise in developing, managing and delivering successful entrepreneurship programmes. But we must go further."
He said that the Department pof Trade and Industry and the Higher Education Funding Council were linking higher education and research with the business agenda "as never before" and the region was benefiting from national programmes such as the Science Enterprise Challenge Fund.
"These will help build and strengthen bridges between our academic base and our business stock. It is business who create wealth and jobs and we must target and nurture our companies to create and develop within the learning environment."
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