![\"\"](\"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Chair-of-Yorkshire-Universities-Professor-Karen-Bryan-OBE-300x187.jpg\")
The letter, which can be read in full here<\/a>, has been penned by Chair of Yorkshire Universities (YU), Professor Karen Bryan OBE (left<\/em>), on behalf of YU members Leeds Arts University; Leeds Conservatoire; Leeds Beckett University; Leeds Trinity University; Sheffield Hallam University; University of Bradford; University of Huddersfield; University of Hull; University of Leeds; University of Sheffield; University of York; and York St John University \u2013 who collectively have 220,000 students enrolled, with 75,000 graduating each year.<\/p>\nIn the letter, Professor Bryan states that YU is a firm supporter of devolution and that it will \u201cwork strategically in partnership with local government, including Mayors and Combined Authorities, within and across the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
She adds: \u201cIn Yorkshire, we have one of the largest and most diverse regional HE eco-systems outside London. The sector contributes \u00a38 billion per annum<\/a> in output to Yorkshire\u2019s economy, and it sustains 63,700 people in employment.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this open letter, on behalf of the Yorkshire Universities Board of Vice-Chancellors and Principals<\/a>, we outline Five Key \u2018Asks\u2019 of candidates standing in this year\u2019s three Mayoral elections in Yorkshire. We would encourage you to support these, and to feature them in your programmes should you be elected.\u201d<\/p>\n The five headline asks are:<\/p>\n 1.\tChampion Yorkshire as the region to invest, to live, to work, and to learn<\/strong> \u2013 including bringing Yorkshire\u2019s HE sector directly into the heart of strategies; using \u201cour world-class cultural assets and creative industries\u201d to promote Yorkshire and attract more jobs; and joining YU\u2019s campaign to make Yorkshire the preferred destination for UK and international students to study<\/a>, predicated on national policy that encourages international students to study in the region. Twelve higher education institutions in Yorkshire today issued a powerful open letter to the region\u2019s mayoral election candidates outlining five \u2018key asks\u2019 to ensure the county is a place to \u201cinvest, live, work and learn\u201d. Ahead of mayoral elections on 2 May 2024, in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, and, for the first time, York …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[141,124,4,148],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-england","category-higher-education","category-news","category-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16122,"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16120\/revisions\/16122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/education-today.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n2.\tLead the efforts to create more sustainable and inclusive growth, attracting more well-paid and secure jobs into the region<\/strong>, including increasing and sustaining investment into the region\u2019s physical and social infrastructure, especially health<\/a>, and including better transport connections.
\n3.\tSupport the contribution of Yorkshire\u2019s universities to the regional skills, education, and training landscape<\/strong> \u2013 including the value of graduate talent, a focal point of YU\u2019s ongoing work<\/a>, and using devolved and national funding and stronger collaboration between Higher Education (HE) and further education to tackle skills gaps.
\n4.\tCreate a new culture of business, enterprise and entrepreneurialism<\/strong> \u2013 this would involve building on the Investment Zones and Freeports<\/a> programmes, to expand clusters, and using funding to drive a step-change in entrepreneurial innovation, including support for groups and individuals currently under-represented in enterprise.
\n5.\tImprove students\u2019 experiences of living and studying in Yorkshire<\/strong> \u2013 this would include supporting the case for a fair and sustainable funding system for HE<\/a>, and helping to improve students access to affordable, good quality housing and transport services. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"