Newcastle University in the UK sees itself as a "civic university with a global reputation for academic excellence" that aims to be "regionally rooted" and "globally ambitious." It strives to combine "academic excellence on the supply side with a range of regional and global challenges on the demand side" by putting "academic knowledge creativity and expertise to work to come forward with innovations and solutions that will make a difference." The university is organized into three faculties and addresses societal challenges through three institution-wide themes: aging, sustainability, and social renewal. However, civic engagement faces internal barriers like competing priorities of global rankings and financial pressures, and external barriers to collaboration. EU policies can help overcome these challenges and

1. A world class civic university : Newcastle
University, UK
John Goddard
Emeritus Professor
Formerly Deputy Vice Chancellor
1

2. Vision and Mission
• “A civic university with a global reputation for academic
excellence with a purpose”
• “To be a world class research intensive university, delivering
teaching and facilitating learning of the highest quality and
playing a leading role in the economic, social and cultural
development of North East England”
• Responding to societal challenges
• According parity of esteem to teaching and research
• Globally ambitious and regionally rooted

3. The role of engagement with civil society globally and locally within the mission
“The combination of being globally competitive and regionally rooted
underpins our vision for the future. We see ourselves not only as doing high
quality academic work … but also choosing to work in areas responsive to
large scale societal needs and demands, particularly those manifested in
our own city and region” Chris Brink, Vice Chancellor
• Paying attention to not just what we are good at but what we are good for
• Delivering benefits not just to individuals and organisations but society as a whole
• Putting academic knowledge creativity and expertise to work to come forward
with innovations and solutions that will make a difference
• Combining academic excellence on the supply side with a range of regional and
global challenges on the demand side
• Operating on a national scale but also recognising the extent to which location in
the City of Newcastle forms the unique identity of the institution

4. The internal structure and organisation to support civic engagement
• Three faculties headed by Pro-Vice Chancellors controlling their own budgets
(Humanities and Social Sciences; Medical Sciences; Science, Agriculture &
Engineering)
• Pro-Vice Chancellors with cross cutting responsibility for research and innovation;
teaching and learning and engagement but with limited budgets
• Co-ordination via an Executive Board including the heads of administration and
directors of finance and human resources.
• Three institution wide Societal Challenge Themes embracing research, teaching
and engagement:
- Ageing
- Sustainability
- Social renewal

6. The internal and external barriers to civic engagement: conflicting
drivers
• Primary drivers global rankings for academic research excellence
and student satisfaction scores for teaching.
• The promise vs. the practise of civic engagement, with much
activity below the radar of senior management.
• Stress in public finances and the marketisation of HE: who pays for
the public good role?
• To collaborate and compete with other universities locally,
nationally and globally
• To respond to global challenges (e.g environmental and
demographic change) and to be not just in but playing an active
role in the development of the home city and region
• To link with business and the community
• As a civic university seeking to resolve these potentially
conflicting drivers

7. The academic perspective
• ‘The notion of treating our city and its region as a seedbed for
sustainability initiatives is a potent one… the vision is of academics
out in the community, working with local groups and businesses on
practical initiatives to solve problems and promote sustainable
development and growth’
• “This necessitates that we proceed in a very open manner, seeking
to overcome barriers to thought, action and engagement; barriers
between researchers and citizens, between the urban and the rural,
between the social and natural sciences, between teaching research
and enterprise”
Director of Newcastle Institute for Sustainability

8. How EU policies can help deliver the civic mission
• ESIF assisting the University act as a connector between regional assets and
global opportunities – the key role of the Smart Specialisation Platform ,the
EUA and the new UK hub in bridging the gap between hitherto disconnected
HE, regional and innovation policy domains
• Recognition of the Newcastle City region as a ‘living lab’ for testing and
shaping and delivery of new products and services (e.g. electrical vehicles,
sub- sea and offshore engineering and assistive technologies for an ageing
population ) and the role of the university as an urban ‘anchor’ institutions.
• Support for overcoming the challenges of building synergies between the
structural funds and Horizon 2020 societal challenge themes.
• Support for institutional capacity building under the ‘Science with and for
Society’ cross cutting theme in Horizon 2020.
• Support for developing a European network of civic universities embracing
the quadruple helix model of innovation that embraces civil society as well as
business.