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º£½ÇÖ±²¥ backs Universities Week

We are supporting the UK’s first Universities Week which is being launched today to highlight the vital role higher education plays in almost every walk of life.

During the week, we will be announcing several major developments, including the launch of the . On Thursday, we will also be contributing to the national showcasing of how higher education can change people’s lives by highlighting how it can lead to new and exciting careers.

Then on Friday we will be marking the official start of construction of our new £13m º£½ÇÖ±²¥ campus in Darlington which will extend higher education opportunities to those living and working in the west end of the Tees Valley, South West Durham and North Yorkshire.

Showcasing universities’ contribution to society The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Graham Henderson, said: ‘The levels of skills, knowledge and expertise required for the UK economy to make a rapid and sustained recovery from the current economic recession means that there has never been a more important time for people, at all levels, to understand the value, and potential contribution, of universities to our economic, social and cultural future.

‘I therefore commend Universities UK on taking the initiative, through their ‘What’s the Big Idea?’ week, to showcase the contribution of universities in society. We at º£½ÇÖ±²¥ look forward to assisting them in raising awareness of our work across as wide an audience as possible.’

Lord Sawyer, Chancellor of the University, added: ‘Higher education is essential not only to our future prosperity as a nation, but also in ensuring that all our communities can share in the cultural and intellectual life of our nation. It is a privilege to be Chancellor of a university that does so much to achieve those essential purposes.’

Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive, Universities UK which is co-ordinating the week of activities, said: ‘For the first time we’ve brought all of the country’s higher education achievements under one single banner to highlight what else our universities have to offer on a local and national level.

‘We have such a strong story to tell in the UK about our world-class universities and how they make such a major contribution to so many different areas of our lives.’

Universities Week is running from 14-20 June throughout the UK.

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