For Staff

Vision for Leeds consultation response

Leeds as a City of Culture

Key challenges
The key challenge is to develop the city's existing cultural offering, develop our combined cultural strengths and help define Leeds as a City of Culture. Whilst Leeds has many cultural assets there is an opportunity to market these collectively and more effectively to improve the city's social and economic development. Whilst Leeds is well known for its retail and financial sectors the challenge to develop the cultural identity remains relatively untapped. With cultural heritage combined with new developments such as the arena it is an opportune moment to create a clear cultural identity.

How can the University contribute?
The University recognises the existing cultural strengths and assets of the city but also wishes to work towards a definition of what culture is to Leeds and create a more expansive vision for cultural development. Greater and more sophisticated awareness of the link between culture, innovation and research is essential to achieving an ambitious cultural identity. The role of culture in social and economic regeneration, employment, wellbeing and wealth creation needs further exploration and indeed exploitation, the eco-system of culture and its links to society, sustainable communities.

The University recognises that it has the potential for greater exploitation of its own cultural assets but also seeks to draw attention to excellence where it currently exists such as the DARE collaboration. It is proposed that the University takes an active role in the development of a new cultural vision, building on success and based in research to plot a path towards a more coherent and sustainable offer delivering social and economic regeneration to the city.

Leeds as a City of Learning

Key challenges
The challenges and changes to education are numerous and complex. At all levels of engagement the city must create a culture of education that is fair and accessible as well as built on the principles of life-long learning. In a knowledge economy at the local, national and international level education, skills and innovation are our saleable commodities. To compete, the city must continue to develop an increasingly skilled and expert workforce.  Leeds, and indeed Yorkshire, still face significant challenges to raise educational attainment at all levels and, whilst progress has been made, the city and region still perform, in most cases, below the national averages. 

Higher education specifically is in the process of being redefined and will see the greatest change to the sector in many years. Globally the number of universities is growing and both developing countries and many of our peers in the developed world are continuing to invest in higher education as the key to future sustainable economic growth. The UK higher education sector, however, is facing cuts on an unprecedented scale. The challenge for the University and the city is to create a supportive educational environment for all. Our future and current generations need to be given the opportunity to succeed at all stages of life and reach their full potential. 

However, with the financial challenges also come the opportunities to build on our strengths and deliver world-class learning. The Browne Review and proposed new fee structure will lead to a distinctly different higher education landscape. It is perceived that more students will attend their local university which further highlights the key role of the University to the future of Leeds. Understanding these challenges through monitoring change and trends is essential to formulating a successful educational vision for the city.

How can the University contribute?
The University and the city need to work together to raise the aspirations of the city's young people in an informed and effective dialogue. Ensuring the brightest young people, regardless of background, aspire to higher education is fundamental to the social and economic future of the city.

There is also a need to understand the changing educational landscape and future funding scenarios to ensure that our stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sector engage effectively in ensuring educational routes are available through all stages of life including continuing professional development.

The University can support the city to understand the challenges through the period of recession and beyond. Based in this knowledge the University can meaningfully engage with the city and other educational providers to provide clear and effective learning routes at all stages of lifelong learning. Expertise in widening participation, educational progression routes, lifelong learning, continuing professional development and learning for active ageing exists within the University and can engage meaningfully with the city to provide an overarching educational strategy.

Leeds as a City of International Business and Innovation

Key challenges
Economic growth is clearly a vital cog in the development of the city and competing on the international stage is essential in the global economy. However, it is also clear that economic growth must be both sustainable and equitable to ensure that the city transitions from the current two-speed economy. Intrinsically linked to business growth is the essential need for integrated, efficient and sustainable transport planning.

Innovation in healthcare provides a formative example of the potential to build on our strengths and the challenge is to propel Leeds to being recognised as an international hub for innovation. This would be underpinned through a well connected community of businesses, organisations, entrepreneurs and innovators who will deliver sustainable growth based on its distinctive nationally leading assets in health and medical technologies, sustainable low carbon assets, education, hospitals, financial and systems management and related services.

How can the University contribute?
The University's Business School has a global reputation as a recruiter of students from all over the world and as an internationally renowned research institute that engages in boundary-extending research across the broad spectrum of business, economics, management and policy issues, in dialogue with practitioners, policy makers and the wider intellectual community. By working with local SMEs we can ensure that the Leeds business community is sufficiently internationalised to compete in global markets, thus securing and creating employment and wealth.

Economic growth alone will not create a sustainable and desirable vision. Ensuring that economic prosperity is shared is key to the success of Leeds. With our centre for excellence in ethics we can also work with the city to link economic development with sustainability and broader societal benefit. Transport studies at the University of Leeds is internationally recognised for its excellence and the University is well placed to inform the future transport issues not least for a changing student demographic.

With specific reference to healthcare innovation, Leeds has one of the UK's highest concentrations of medical device companies, superb specialist skills (especially in surgical instrumentation, orthopaedics and advanced wound-care), exceptional access to clinical trials, pioneering research and development within the Universities that have excellence across a broad range of areas.

There is a need to bring together the innovation and application of healthcare in the city to jointly promote and market the city on the international stage. This would be aided through closer collaboration between the University and city to identify our excellence in healthcare and project this nationally and internationally.

Leeds as a sustainable City of the Future

Key challenges
The key challenge is to anticipate the impact of an increasing rate of growth in our cities and the associated issues that characterise urbanisation such as rising crime, deprivation, congestion, pollution, waste disposal, health inequalities and housing - all set against the need for decreasing resource usage. The future must address the importance of identifying sustainable ways of living in light of global challenges such as the ageing population, economic recession and climate change.

The future of Leeds also requires partnership to develop the internationalisation of the city. There are many different countries and cultures represented in Leeds with differing needs and requirements. The University has a diverse and vibrant international staff and student population that has the potential to support the city in addressing key issues and furthering our international standing.

How can the University contribute?
Researchers across all nine of the University's faculties are working together to address the challenges of the future. By focussing this work on Leeds by using the Leeds City Region as the 'Future Cities Laboratory', the city can also become an internationally recognised centre for the development of cities. The group can also work with the Leeds Initiative to develop scenarios of what the Leeds of the future will look like by using our expertise in demographic forecasting, socio-economic analysis, connected communities, transportation planning, sustainable societies and social and healthcare planning.

Leading scientists across multiple disciplines at Leeds are working in partnership with key service providers to address the current and future challenges to work, care and security.  By building long term sustainable societies (both locally and globally) we can meet people's needs for work, security and social care in the context of diminishing resources.

The University's extensive research activity (currently over £60m) in low carbon activities provides Leeds with the opportunity to be a world leading contributor to future environmental sustainability. Leeds expertise covers technological innovations (such as aviation, high temperature combustion technology, biomass and coal combustion, advanced power generation technology, atmospheric science, CO2 sequestration, carbon storage, petroleum geo-engineering, sustainable agriculture research) and environmental policy and management. As a founding partner of the Centre for Low Carbon Futures, the University also works in partnership with other universities in the region developing low carbon technologies.