New website highlights our local impact

The University of Leicester contributes significantly to the city of Leicester, the surrounding county of Leicestershire and further afield. Now, on a new minisite, the University is highlighting the local impact that it is making and how it wants to engage more actively with local communities as partners to its future development plans.

Not content with just being proud of the city, region, and its role within it, PROUD is also an acronym of five key themes selected by our University to inform its corporate social responsibility plans: 'Promoting Health & Wellbeing', 'Restoring the Environment', 'Opening Access To Culture & Heritage', 'Upskilling for the 21st Century' and 'Developing Children & Young People'.

Registrar and Chief Operating Officer Dave Hall has been telling Nathan Ifill why the University of Leicester is PROUD of its city.

What is PROUD?

PROUD is an acronym of the five key themes behind the university's corporate social responsibility strategy. Here are a handful of examples of how we are making a difference:

P: Promoting Health & Wellbeing

Research within the College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology is taking advantage of Leicester's distinctive population to address culturally specific health issues, making a tangible impact within our local community which can then be rolled out nationally and internationally.

R: Restoring the Environment

Did you know that the University has the largest underground bicycle storage facility of any higher education institution in the UK? We are also working in partnership with Leicester City Council on its Air Quality Action Plan.

O: Opening Access To Culture & Heritage

Each year, University of Leicester arts centre Attenborough Arts hosts part of the Leicester Comedy Festival, the biggest comedy festival in England. The University's exemplar work around the discovery, identification and reinterment of Richard III and its ongoing work within the Leicester Heritage Partnership demonstrate its skill and expertise within the heritage arena.

U: Upskilling for 21st Century

The University of Leicester currently runs four massive online open courses on forensics, Richard III, museums, and calculus, allowing thousands of people across the world access to university-standard teaching.

D: Developing Children & Young People

Children as young as two years old have been encouraged to learn about maths through a project led by the University of Leicester. University students also work with Beaumont Leys School in Leicester to support students on the GCSE C/D grade borderline.

Hear more in the brand new PROUD Podcast, which highlights some of the corporate social responsibility activities taking place at the university.