Appendix H – Teesside University Community Engagement
Strong relationships - Working with the Community
Teesside University has sought to build a strong and open relationship with the community over many years. The University sees itself as a good neighbour to community partners and residents.
The University takes its responsibilities to the local community very seriously. Its overall approach is articulated in the University Corporate Social Responsibility Framework, as follows:
‘Teesside University stands strongly for social inclusion and has always been committed, in principle and in practice, to the economic, social and cultural success of the communities that it serves. When Teesside became the winner of the Times Higher Education’s University of the Year Award in 2009/10, the judges singled out the University’s commitment to working with communities and businesses, making it “the public benefactor par excellence”.’
The University seeks to develop major improvements to the public realm - forming a safe and welcoming environment that will benefit the whole town, local residents and the University community. The University looks to develop the campus for the mutual benefit and shared prosperity of the whole community - attracting students to the area, keeping local students in the area and retaining graduates on Teesside.
The University’s Community Engagement work is structured in four specific approaches – provision and participation; involvement and support; cultural work; and advocacy and initiatives.The University looks forward to working with the local community in the same open spirit that characterises the partnerships and initiatives described below.
Particular examples of communityengagement,on which the University and the community will build,include:
Provision and participation
a)Use of University accommodation for community projects on numerous occasions, including:
- Extensive (and growing) use of University sports facilities by local community groups
- Hosting, on a weekly basis, various community-based Islamic groups
- Hosting, for at least 10 years, the Middlesbrough Older Persons Forum annual dinner, and also hosting meetings of the Forum. The Vice-Chancellor of the University is the patron of this Forum.
b)The Students’ Union welcomes local people to use its facilities for events and parties, and hostsmany of these each year.
c)University senior officers operate an open-door policy for officers, members of community groups and local Councillors.
d)The attendance of senior University officers at local Community Councils. In the case of University Ward, the Students' Union also attends the Community Council.
e)The University is represented on the University Ward Community First Panel – part of a national government initiative where each ward is given a small amount of funding for residents or other groups to submit bids to improve life in their ward.
f)The use of the University campus for the 2012 University Ward Summer Party and Jubilee celebration, and for the summer 2013 University Ward Summer Fair. The newly-designed public space would be a natural home for such community events.
g)On every occasion when the University has sought planning approval for new developments a community engagement meeting is publicised in the local community and held on campus.
h)The University worked very closely and constructively with the local community over parking issues in University Ward.
Involvement and support
i)University staff and students are extensively involved in raising aspirations of schoolchildren through projects in local schools, such as the involvement of Forensic Science students in Abingdon School. The Head of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office is Chair of the Governors of Abingdon School.
j)The University supports many local community groups, including the Teesside Pipe Band, the Powerchair Footballers and the Abingdon Road School Band.
k)Over 500 University students, living in Middlesbrough, actively support over 80 local voluntary groups. University and Students’ Union staff are encouraged to support the community through voluntary involvement in local schools, charities, and other activities.
l)Members of the community have been involved in a mentoring scheme for the University’s international students – specifically, members of the Mandarin and Cantonese speaking communities.
m)The University promotes volunteering opportunities for students, in support of community projects, including the Voluntees scheme. The University is also a partner in the Middlesbrough Volunteering Star Awards and a member of the Middlesbrough Volunteer Action Group.
n)The University also provides active support for:
- The North of England Refugee Service
- Middlesbrough Community Pride.
o)The University is a sponsor fora number of local Academy schools.
Cultural work
p)The University sponsorsand is extensively involved inthe Middlesbrough Mela.
q)The University's Culture programme has expanded its involvement ofthe community and community organisations, including:
•Collaboration with Tees Valley Arts and Northern Revive - including, for delivery of the University’s Winter Lights Festival and Chinese New Year celebrations in 2012/13.
•Community activities connected with major exhibitions at the University, including Mackenzie Thorpe’s Middlesbrough Murals exhibition in 2011.
•The marking of international events which are of relevance and interest to the local communities, such as International Women’s Day.
•Hosting the Anne Frank Memorial Trust Exhibition.
•An annual series of public lectures, plus many other events and exhibitions which are open to the community.
•The University's new partnership with the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art will include extensive work to draw new visitors into the gallery.
Advocacy and initiatives
r)The University undertakes high level advocacy, in Parliament, on issues vital to Teesside. This includes the active promotion, in the media and in Parliament, of research which relates specifically to issues affecting local people, including recent research published in collaboration with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
s)In 2013, the University was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize - a prize which places particular emphasis on graduate retention in the area, and the promotion of entrepreneurship and opportunities in the local economy.The prize recognises the University's dedication to social enterprise and to supporting the growth of jobs and businesses in the area.
t)The University won the Education category in the 2013 Tees Valley BME achievement awards.
u)The University holds annual fundraising events for charities including Red Nose Day and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
v)The University has pledged to ensure that all members of its staff are paid the Living Wage, to support living standards, good health and social inclusion; and in support of the campaign to make Middlesbrough a Living Wage town.