Preston’s university pledges to put city at its heart

UCLan's Media Factory within the Preston city centre campus Pic: Tony Worrall — UCLan’s Media Factory within the Preston city centre campus Pic: Tony Worrall

The city’s university has pledged to put Preston’s ‘economy and quality of life’ as one of its key priorities.

The University of Central Lancashire has become the 50th academic institution to sign a new Civic University Agreement.

The document is a commitment from the university to play a role at the heart of the city and be a force for good.

UCLan’s Lancashire Science Festival is referenced as an excellent way of a university giving back to a community.

The four-day festival introduces science as a fun subject for schools and includes a public open-day attracting thousands of visitors.

Joint institutional lead at UCLan Liz Bromley said: “We are delighted to be the fiftieth university to produce a Civic University Agreement which will reaffirm our full commitment to the City of Preston and the wider region. With a staff and student community of 35,000, indirectly contributing over £200 million to Preston and the North West economy every year, we are proud to play a major role in the economic, social and cultural development of our city.

“For UCLan, civic engagement is not a ‘nice to have’; or an ‘add-on’: genuine and meaningful relationships with the communities around us are vital if we’re to become the university we’ve said we want to be.”