Beckie Hart: Our universities need protecting

A key element underpinning Britain’s response to this challenge is its network of outstanding healthcare and research hubs, hospitals and laboratories which every day grapple with both the human impact and the science of the disease. These typically are either based in or have strong links to Britain’s universities.

Take, for example, our brilliant NHS staff – often among its ranks are academic clinicians, and medical and nursing students fast-tracked to the front line – or the university researchers across the country working hard to find solutions and provide expert guidance to our government.

It is amazing that, while our understanding of the virus is limited at present, there is hope that we will eventually come to understand it. Undoubtedly, that is in large part due to our higher education and research institutions.

Whether it’s manufacturing vital equipment or carrying out research into vaccines, universities can be found at the heart of Britain’s fightback against the pandemic.

In Yorkshire and the Humber all of our universities have stepped up to the plate whether that be Leeds University and Leeds Beckett ensuring that their student nurses will join the NHS early as part of the national programme to assist during the current coronavirus situation, or Sheffield university partnership with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals to sequence whole genomes of the coronavirus.

These efforts have been strengthened by the industrial ties which many universities have forged with business, this is particularly true of the 3M Buckley Centre at the University of Huddersfield where, in partnership with Surfachem had rapidly ensured manufacture of at least 30,000 litres a day of hand gel which is distributed to local hospitals, care homes and other front line settings ensuring our key workers are protected.

In the current climate, important questions persist around how universities can maintain their services. Higher education institutions are agile.

They are, for example, changing existing models of education to deliver e-learning. And as I have already outlined, they are home to much of the innovation that takes place in the country, with expertise spanning a range of disciplines. But any reduced intake of international students and lost income from conferences will hit them hard.

I believe that it’s in the interest of the UK’s regions to protect universities.

Higher education institutions have long existed at an intersection between the local, national and international levels. They can draw in talent from across the globe and encourage international firms to set up in their local area. They provide soft power, boosting the reputation of their location on the world stage.

In addition to housing medical and scientific research into the virus, they are applying multi-disciplinary expertise to solve the problems facing their regions, for example Sheffield Hallam university will be leading the development of the Civic University Network whose first priority will be to encourage an impactful sector response to the spread of coronavirus.

Initiatives like these aptly showcase how universities can respond to local challenges. Ensuring we protect higher institutions throughout the crisis will allow them to continue playing a role in society’s attempt to quash the impact of a virus.