Our ideas, knowledge and inventiveness are key to creating a successful UK plc

By Chris Carr, vice-chancellor, University of Cumbria

Last updated 16:10, Monday, 26 May 2008

Every year at about this time the Secretary of State at the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills writes to the chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, setting out his expectations from the council for the year ahead.

This letter explains to the funding council exactly what the Government expects from the universities in return for the funding they receive over the course of the financial year.

Of course, these kinds of letters are written in very official terms, but they do provide a very clear indication of national higher education priorities.

The Secretary of State’s letter was sent out late in January, and some of the priorities it identifies for the higher education sector at large resonate strongly here in Cumbria.

One of the good pieces of news is that while public expenditure in general will increase by an average of 2.1 per cent a year over the next three years, the figure for higher education is 2.5 per cent.

The reason for this is because the Government believes that further growth in the higher education sector is crucially important to the long-term development of the UK economy.

However, as is always the case whenever there looks to be additional resources coming into the HE sector, there is never something for nothing.

In return for the additional funding, universities will be expected to deliver on a number of key priorities. These are of particular importance, and one of the most important objectives is a continued increase in the number of people who can benefit from higher education.

Over the next three years it is expected an additional 75,000 university places will become available. Two of the factors which will be taken into account in allocating these additional numbers to individual universities will be the need to increase participation in higher education from under-represented groups and to offer better local access to higher education in places where there is shortage of supply.

There has been a strong drive in the Government’s higher education policy towards accelerating progress in the development of firm relationships between universities and employers.

The University of Cumbria is picking up this agenda strongly. The recent launch of our Institute of Transport and Logistics is an example of the kind of initiatives Government policy supports.

The Government has committed £105m over the next three years to support employer-focussed higher education provision.

Widening participation remains a central plank of higher education policy; universities are encouraged to build “deep and permanent” partnerships with schools, and forge strong structural links with them.

Regular readers of this column will know that the University of Cumbria has been promoting the importance of a strong relationship with schools for some time, and it is clear that the view we hold in Cumbria that such relationships are of critical importance in raising the aspirations of young people is being reflected strongly in national policy.

Of course, the role of research and innovation in our universities remains absolutely critical, and there will be a continued drive to support innovation in the nation’s economic life through the work of our universities. Universities are repositories of considerable intellectual capital, and it is important for our collective well-being that we harness intellectual resources as effectively as we can.

We depend on our ideas, knowledge and inventiveness to ensure that UK plc can compete effectively in the modern global economy. Universities have a critical role to play.