City and Region Focus
 The
University has a long-established and firm commitment to the City and
the District and has continued to build partnerships, raise aspirations
and meet community needs with energy and ingenuity.
The University is performing
well above Government expectations in attracting students from a diverse
range of backgrounds, and has continued to build on this work with an
inclusive and holistic approach to securing greater social inclusion within
Higher Education.
The University's Widening
Participation strategy has seen a wealth of developments including
the introduction of the Compact Scheme to co-ordinate
the way local youngsters are introduced to Higher Education through aspiration
raising and capacity building based on fun hands-on activities. The Compact
Scheme forms part of the new Bradford University Academy, which provides
potential students, including pre-16s, with a coherent programme of activities,
including support for their current programmes of study, the opportunity
to sample future degree options and help with their university application.
The University is committed
to meeting the needs of our communities in a variety of ways, and our
focus on inclusion has included exciting work through Programme
for a Peaceful City, a University initiative involving organisations
from across the City working together to discuss and define ways forward
for the City in terms of social cohesion, diversity and tolerance. Other
partnerships include those with local schools, colleges, community and
voluntary groups, employers, with Education Action Zones and Excellence
Challenge, and with Foundation 4 Success and the West and North Yorkshire
Open College Network.
Raising aspirations across
the City and the District is crucial for the area's regeneration, and
the University has sought to continue this support through the introduction
of other initiatives including new Foundation
Degrees, designed to provide new and exciting opportunities for local
people to access Higher Education in a way that is flexible and responsive
to the needs of industry. We have links with other key partners in the
City and the Region, including Bradford Metropolitan District Council,
Bradford Vision and Yorkshire Forward, which are also helping to shape
regeneration through business and skill-based projects that are covered
elsewhere in this report.
Lifelong Learning will remain
firmly at the top of the University's agenda, as will its commitment to
raising aspirations and success amongst the area's many and diverse communities.
Our blueprint for the future will be clearly laid out in the new Corporate
Plan and will see the University continue to act as a catalyst for the
ongoing regeneration and prosperity of the District.
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