“As Northamptonshire’s anchor higher education institution, the University is uniquely positioned to drive economic growth within the local economy. The UON strategy is to deliver social impact, locally and nationally. We want to ensure that public, private, and voluntary sectors have access to the right skills to enable their organisations to thrive, and we will continue to provide a sustainable pipeline of skilled professionals who are already embedded in key local sectors through many of our academic and apprenticeship programmes.”
Anne Marie Kilday – Vice Chancellor University of Northampton (UoN)

The University of Northampton is passionate about working with businesses and partner organisations to support and drive forward the priorities of Northamptonshire and beyond.

They help to provide solutions to the challenges faced by business of any size. This includes provision of short courses to develop talent, student placements, graduate recruitment, research services, specialist facilities, first class event and meeting spaces and tapping into their expertise to help accelerate business growth.

Growth and Development: The University‘s purpose is to create social impact and was recently ranked in the top 100 universities in the world by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for its role in reducing inequalities, supporting students and improving sustainability. In 2023/24, the University was home to 15,370 students and directly employed 2,580 members of staff.

The University contributes to the driving growth in Northamptonshire by:

▪  acting as an anchor institution that generates a strong base of demand;

▪  playing a role in economic development, supporting businesses to grow and addressing long-term unemployment; and

▪  supporting Northamptonshire’s growth offer by providing the infrastructure and skills needed for businesses to grow.

Future Growth Plans: The University makes a broad and deep contribution to the fabric of life in Northamptonshire. As an anchor institution, its staff and students make the area more vibrant and economically sustainable. It supports pupils from the most deprived backgrounds into higher education and a range of new opportunities.

Its research and its engagement with third sector organisations help to solve society’s problems at a local and international scale. Its graduates provide the skilled staff needed for a broad range of organisations in Northamptonshire, from businesses to public sector organisations such as the NHS. In addition to supporting the regeneration of Northampton, by increasing the stock of human capital, through its graduates, and the stock of social capital, through its engagement and leadership across organisations, the University is providing the foundations necessary for Northamptonshire’s future prosperity.

The future of the industry and how The University will move with this:

Their core activity is education, and they will continue to provide degree level qualifications to their undergraduates. Alongside this they are:

CPD (Continuous Professional Development)
Collaborating with teams, organisations, and industry leads to develop and deliver professional learning and development (CPD) options tailored to today’s workforce and working environment.

Their blended learning approach, which combines face-to-face, online, and work-based learning, is ideal for enabling people to apply skills acquired as they progress directly. 

Apprenticeships
The University of Northampton apprenticeships embrace the growing development for vocational higher education in England by offering higher and degree apprenticeships specifically designed by industry to respond to high level skills gaps. They bring together the very best in higher and vocational education. The University are continually developing their programme to offer what is needed locally. 

Research and business collaboration
Research is integral to what they do and who they are as a University. They aim to be a truly research-based institution – one in which excellence is embedded, and contributes to learning and teaching, knowledge exchange, social impact, enterprise and innovation, while they respond to the priorities of their communities. Watch this video to find out more.

Innovation
Innovation is key to the UK and Northamptonshire’s Economic Strategies. They have recently launched their Innovation ecosystem report and will be working with partners to support and develop innovation across the county and beyond.