Northern Powerhouse Minister calls for ‘Ivy League of the North’

Northern universities should act to become the ‘Ivy League’ of the North, leading the country in science, research and innovation.

Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry issued the call to action while speaking at the first ever Northern Powerhouse Higher Education summit held in the Foresight Centre at the University of Liverpool yesterday.

He said: “Our Northern universities are developing cutting-edge technologies in areas such as advanced manufacturing at the AMRC and in experimental new 2D materials at the National Graphene Institute and Innovation Centre.

“Now is the time to build on this success and bring about a new era of cooperation between universities in the Northern Powerhouse. We need an ‘Ivy League of the North’ in which the N8 Research Partnership and our other great Northern universities combine their technical knowledge, expertise and know-how to deliver the economy of tomorrow. At the heart of this we can create a highly-skilled, highly-educated new generation of graduates.”

Dr. Annette Bramley of the N8 Research Partnership and Berry stressed the importance of university collaborations in positioning the Northern Powerhouse at the heart of the fourth industrial revolution.

Bramley said: “I believe the future success of the Northern Powerhouse in rebalancing the UK economy and boosting the North’s economic performance is through deep collaboration – both pan-Northern and international.

“Bringing our region’s great universities together at the Northern Powerhouse Education Summit emphasises our shared commitment to creating the right conditions for innovation and entrepreneurialism to thrive.”

The ‘N8’ research-intensive universities of Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and York deliver 119,000 jobs and £12bn to the regional economy, provide help to more than 31,000 businesses and create more than £6.6bn GVA to the region.

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