University hosts first multi-media forum

The University of Teesside’s ambitious plans for growth and development will be unveiled on Thursday 25 January by the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Graham Henderson, when he co-hosts the first University Forum. Professor Henderson will host the event with the University’s Chancellor Lord Sawyer of Darlington and Chair of Governors Sandy Anderson.

More than 200 stakeholders and other people with an interest in the University’s future development will attend the Forum, which takes place from 5.30pm to 7.45pm in the Olympia Building, Victoria Road, Middlesbrough.

A multi-media presentation will be delivered, showing how Teesside has grown since gaining university-status in 1992 and focusing on its priorities until 2009. Meeting current and future needs of students and their employers and supporting the case for a strong and vibrant Tees Valley ‘City-Region’ are amongst the top priorities for the University over the next three years.

The Vice-Chancellor will unveil a set of targets to take the University forward over the next three years. These include:

• Meeting the demographic downturn in the number of 18-19 year-olds available to enter higher education by focusing on attracting new talent from further afield, and in particular from the rest of Europe and the wider world to achieve a 10% rise in full-time equivalent students.
• Increasing employer engagement and work-related training by, amongst other things, developing new foundation degrees along the lines of those already launched with Cleveland Police and the North East Chamber of Commerce.
• Strengthening strategic partnerships with local schools and colleges.
• Facilitating a step change in the nature and level of research and enterprise activities at the University.
• Investing a further £50m on the campus on top of the £100m worth of capital investments since Teesside became a university.

This week’s presentation will coincide with the publication of a new report, Moving Forward, in which Professor Henderson puts more meat on the bones of the University’s ambitious growth plans. Copies are available from the Vice-Chancellor’s Office by contacting Mark White on 01642 342004 or by emailing m.white@tees.ac.uk

Professor Henderson said: “There is much to be proud of in the achievements of the University, with student numbers expected to rise to 22,000 this year. That compares to just over 8,000 when it gained university-status in 1992. We are very much looking forward to sharing our vision with our many friends and partners across the Tees Valley and beyond.”

For media opportunities on the evening of Thursday 25 January please call the Press & Public Relations Office on 01642 342015, e-mail pr@tees.ac.uk

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