University of Bradford Annual Report 2000/01

Partnerships

Progressive and innovative partnerships are at the heart of the University's mission to support the diverse needs of students, staff and the local and regional economy.

From educational and industry links to international collaborations, to partnerships designed to move forward the vital widening participation agenda, 2000/01 saw the University in dynamic mood.

Working with colleagues at Leeds Metropolitan University, we established an alliance to look at opportunities for developing new academic pathways and programmes to enhance participation through the establishment of a new company called Yorkshire Learning.

The West Yorkshire Consortium, spearheaded by Leeds Metropolitan, Bradford and Huddersfield universities, has built on this with a successful bid worth £450k from the Higher Education Funding Council for England to deliver innovative new foundation degrees. Delivered over two years full-time or part-time equivalent, foundation degrees are designed to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds and will help boost skills levels across the region.

A further unique collaboration with the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds and NHS organisations across Bradford, Airedale and Leeds, has opened up new and exciting pathways into medicine for students across the region, especially those from ethnic minorities. Spearheaded jointly by the University's School of Health Studies and the School of Life Sciences the initiative will help to overcome growing shortages for medical staff in Yorkshire where hospital vacancy rates are now the highest outside London.

Colleagues across the University, particularly in the School of Lifelong Education and Development, have continued to build on this work with a range of partnerships and links spanning Education and Health Action Zones, Single regeneration projects and community projects designed to impact on those in our communities who find it hardest to access, and harness, educational potential.

Alongside this, we have built on our collaborations with Bradford College and other regional opportunities as part of our mission to grow, increase recruitment levels, build on research and other income generation, and provide the services and facilities our students, partners and communities expect.

We have collaborated closely with the City and other partners to promote the District through 2020 Vision and, latterly, by involvement in Bradford's bid for 2008 Capital of Culture status.

Internationally, the University has been particularly active with new collaborations across the globe. A new agreement with Heilongjang University, China, has brought around 60 Chinese students to study at the University, whilst a Memorandum of Agreement with INTI College in Malaysia has allowed students to access the University of Bradford's excellent engineering courses. Additionally, a Government body which helped to bring Singapore industry to its world-beating level of international competitiveness has teamed up with the University's School of Management to help link like-minded quality organisations across the globe. Established links with other partners including MDIS and NIMBAS have continued to flourish.

Links with industry in the UK have been similarly nurtured. The ICON Laboratory project championed by the School of Informatics in collaboration with the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television received a welcome boost in the form of a £25k grant to develop a feasibility study. Work undertaken by project teams at the School of Management working on Overseas Trade Support for Small and medium-sized Enterprises (OTSS) and Information to ACT (INFOACT) helped over 100 companies in the region develop new international markets.