Centre for Responsible AI launched to provide a trusted regional voice
Discover more on page 9
World-leading research and outstanding education with the power to change lives
Find out more on pages 15-23
Fashion students use their skills to develop adaptive clothing
Read all about it on page 26
Renowned architect, author and TV presenter George Clarke has been appointed as the new Chancellor of Northumbria University.
George is one of the North East’s most inspirational success stories. Born in Sunderland in 1974, he grew up on a newly-developed council estate in Washington, just a few miles away from Northumbria University. His experience shaped his ambition to become an architect as he recognised the ability of architecture to transform lives.
After studying architecture at Newcastle University, he moved to London to work with worldfamous architect Sir Terry Farrell. Hugely ambitious, he then
established his own architecture business, quickly moving into design, build and property development.
Best known for presenting several major TV shows for Channel 4 and Channel 5 including the long-running George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and The Restoration Man, George is passionate about using his position and access to help make a difference to everyday lives. He is a patron and ambassador for organisations including the Civic Trust, the National Trust, the King’s
Foundation, the Knight’s Youth Centre, cancer charity Maggie’s Centres and housing and homeless charity, Shelter.
George is an ardent campaigner for better housing conditions and building regulations and has acted as an advisor to the Government and the housing sector. In 2017 George founded his educational charity The Ministry of Building, Innovation and Education, known as MOBIE, to inspire young people to work in the architecture, design and building industries. MOBIE runs outreach programmes in
primary and secondary schools as well as courses at B-TEC and Master’s level.
A huge champion for the North East, George has always been keen to shine a spotlight on the region and is making significant investments that will lead to him spending more time in the North East in future. In 2024, he announced he was relocating MOBIE to Sunderland’s new Sheepfolds development, home to the Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy (HISCA). Northumbria is also
closely involved in HISCA through its partnership with Education Partnerships North East, collaborating on skills development and innovation in the housing and construction sectors. George recently revealed plans to transform a Grade II listed building in Sunderland into a cultural bookshop, café and flexible events space. Continues on page 2
Breaking barriers: Northumbria named Higher Education Institution of the Year, Page 5
Dr Simon Corbett discusses how Northumbria is helping to ensure the North East is not only part of the UK’s AI revolution – but is leading it, Page 11
First cohort graduate from life-changing programme on public involvement in research, Page 24
Cutting edge X-ray facility to transform art, music and heritage research, Page 29
The research helping to protect the lives of premature babies, Page 31
Plugging in to green battery technology wins global recognition for researchers, Page 34
Dr Liam PearsonNoseworthy’s journey from PT to PhD, Page 36
Continued from Pg. 1
George will become the fourth Chancellor of Northumbria University, after Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson stepped down from the role in July 2025 following a 10-year term as a stellar ambassador for the University. In a remarkable coincidence, she awarded George with an honorary degree on her very first day of presiding over the University’s graduation ceremonies back in 2015. George was awarded an honorary doctorate of civil law in recognition of his irrepressible drive, determination and passion for the potential architecture has to transform lives and to improve the way we all live.
George formally began his post as Chancellor on 1 November 2025 and will preside over his first graduation ceremonies in December. Speaking on his appointment, he said: “Although I now live in London, I have always kept a close eye on things going on in the region and I’ve been so impressed with everything I have seen happening at Northumbria University over the years. It is a university that delivers impactful research and innovative industry partnerships; it has outstanding global connections and brings huge regional economic benefits. But perhaps most importantly, it is a university that opens doors to education and really does change people’s lives.
students from Northumbria University and playing a key role in advocating for the University wherever I can.”
Northumbria University’s ViceChancellor and Chief Executive, Professor Andy Long, said: “Northumbria University’s mission is to transform lives and enable people from all backgrounds to succeed, through world leading research, driving social mobility and providing outstanding experiential learning. As such, George could not be a more fitting choice as our new Chancellor.
“His own career path is a perfect example of how people can be supported to succeed – and excel – regardless of their background, as long as opportunities are made available to them. Our students, staff and graduates will benefit from his insights and experiences and I know George will bring a great energy and commitment to the role.”
inspirational Chancellor not only for Northumbria’s students and staff but the wider region too. I very much look forward to working with him.”
Chancellors are the ceremonial figurehead of universities who preside over academic congregations to confer degrees, diplomas and other awards to graduating students. The Chancellor also acts as an ambassador for the University, promoting Northumbria on a regional, national and international level.
Scan the QR code to view a video message from George.
“I know, from my own experience, just how transformative a university education can be and I am so honoured to take on the role of Chancellor of the University. I am hugely looking forward to meeting with more staff and
Dr Roberta Blackman Woods, Chair of the University’s Board of Governors, added: “I am absolutely delighted to be welcoming George to the role of Chancellor at Northumbria University. For many years I have been hugely impressed by his innovative and captivating approach to architecture, housebuilding, restoration and heritage. I am particularly pleased with his strong support for building a new generation of social housing and his active campaigning to make this happen.
“His attachment to the North East including supporting many local charities and organisations alongside his demonstrable commitment to social mobility will make him a hugely
“ I’VE BEEN SO IMPRESSED WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE SEEN HAPPENING AT NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY OVER THE YEARS. IT IS A UNIVERSITY THAT DELIVERS IMPACTFUL RESEARCH AND INNOVATIVE INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS; IT HAS OUTSTANDING GLOBAL CONNECTIONS AND BRINGS HUGE REGIONAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS. BUT PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT IS A UNIVERSITY THAT OPENS DOORS TO EDUCATION AND REALLY DOES CHANGE PEOPLE’S LIVES.”
GEORGE CLARKE
The lucky winner will be able to
Northumbria
academically
Research from Northumbria University has been instrumental in securing a £600 million Government commitment to fund the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme for the next three years, following evidence that demonstrated its critical importance to children and families across England.
The HAF programme gives children and young people who receive means-tested free school meals across England access to healthy food and opportunities to get involved in enriching physical and cultural activities during school holidays.
The University’s Healthy Living Lab has been leading research into holiday programmes, school meals and breakfast clubs for over two decades. The research team’s findings have confirmed widespread positive impacts on children’s health, social and educational wellbeing – from improving school attendance, motivation and educational attainment, to supporting social relationships, quality of life and upward social mobility.
The Government’s landmark announcement came on the same day that the University welcomed almost 100 young people and local and national leaders onto its Newcastle city centre campus for a major HAF event, led and organised by young people, for young people.
thousands of children and young people, and their families across England, by providing them with a range of enriching opportunities to interact with peers, their local community organisations, schools and community assets.”
Professor Greta Defeyter OBE, Director of the Healthy Living Lab and Dean of Social Mobility Policy Engagement at Northumbria University, said: “I am delighted that the Department for Education have committed to funding HAF for a further three years. HAF is an excellent programme that supports hundreds of
This summer, the research team worked with 50 local authorities across England and educational technology platform provider Eequ to conduct the country’s largest ever survey of parents and carers on their views of HAF. Over 20,000 parents and carers completed the survey. While analysis of the results is still underway, initial data has revealed compelling evidence of HAF’s impact, with more than 90 per cent of respondents saying that HAF made it easier for them to work and worry
less about money during school holidays; that it helped their child to take part in more physical activity; and that it helped their child to make new friends in the community.
Many parents noted that that their children attending HAF have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Research from the Healthy Living Lab had already contributed to the Department for Education investing over £200 million per year to local authorities since 2021, and the recent announcement of £315 million to roll out a National School Breakfast programme to an additional 500,000 primary school children in England.
Professor Defeyter added: “Our research has shown a
Social Return of Investment of £8 for every £1 invested, by the UK Government, in the HAF programme. Investing in communities, and young people, leads to improved human capital, upward social mobility and supports children and young people out of poverty.”
Labour MP and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on School Food, Sharon Hodgson, highlighted the importance of this threeyear commitment from the Government. “The research led by Professor Greta Defeyter – who has been a member of the All Party Group on School Food since I set it up – has been so important,” she said. “It is really working to help these children and families and the parents say it’s making a huge
difference to their budgets across the summer. I know Greta’s research is always spot on, so if she says it’s working, then that’s good enough for me.”
Professor Andy Long, ViceChancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria University, said the HAF programme’s importance for social mobility and eliminating barriers to success cannot be understated. “Northumbria University’s long-standing commitment to researching areas of health, social equity and inequality has provided the Government with clear evidence of the benefits HAF brings at national, local, community and individual levels which has informed this landmark announcement.”
For more information about Northumbria’s world-leading Healthy Living Lab click the QR code.
This summer, Northumbria University awarded honorary degrees to 11 distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements. During Northumbria’s summer congregation ceremonies, more than 5,000 students officially received their degrees. In addition, a distinguished group of individuals were recognised as honorary graduates for their outstanding achievement and contributions to society, in fields ranging from criminal justice and social housing to film-making and public health.
Lady Edwina Grosvenor, a Northumbria Criminology and Sociology graduate, received a Doctor of Civil Law recognising two decades of work as a criminal justice reformer. Her global efforts to improve prison systems, alongside her continued support for research into women’s experiences of violence and incarceration, have made her a powerful advocate for change in the justice sector.
Lucy Winskell OBE, LordLieutenant of Tyne and Wear and former Northumbria Pro Vice-Chancellor, also received a Doctor of Civil Law. Her dedication to regional development, education, and the voluntary sector has made a lasting impact on the North East.
Jason Cook, comedian, writer and producer, received a Doctor of Letters. Jason is a leading figure in British comedy, creating the hit BBC sitcom
Hebburn and the Murder They Hope TV specials. He has also helped provide thousands of gifts for children in the region through his Laffs4Kids charity.
Mark Henderson, Chief Executive of Home Group, was awarded a Doctor of Civil Law. Since 2008, Mark has led the housing association through rapid growth, now supporting over 125,000 residents across England and Scotland. A champion of innovation and social responsibility in housing, he also serves on the board of Homes England and chairs the Whiteley Homes Trust.
Nicola Elliott, founder of NEOM Wellbeing and Northumbria graduate,
was honoured with a Doctor of Civil Law. After experiencing the effects of burnout in her journalism career, Nicola launched a wellbeing brand that now enjoys international success. Her debut book, The Four Ways to Wellbeing,
and education. One of the first Black women to study at Oxford, she has been instrumental in projects promoting African heritage and community engagement in the North East.
Professor Richard Wilkinson, a social epidemiologist and public health expert, was awarded a Doctor of Science. His research on income inequality and its effects on health and society has shaped policy worldwide, with bestselling books like The Spirit Level and widely viewed TED talks cementing his influence.
Craig Jones MBE and Caroline Paige MBE, co-founders of the LGBTQ+ veterans charity Fighting With Pride, were both awarded Doctor of Science degrees.
Craig, a former Royal Navy officer, led campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights in the military, while Caroline was the first openly transgender officer in the British Armed Forces and
a trailblazer for inclusion and diversity.
Rob Lemkin, a filmmaker known for powerful documentaries such as Enemies of the People and African Apocalypse, received a Doctor of Letters. His work has won international awards and influenced justice efforts, including being cited in the Khmer Rouge trials.
General Dame Sharon Nesmith, Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, was awarded a Doctor of Civil Law for her pioneering military career and leadership across the British Army, including key roles in strategic planning, operations and personnel.
Click the QR code to find out more about honorary degrees awarded by Northumbria.
Northumbria University’s nursing courses have been ranked among the very best in the country in the latest Guardian University Guide.
The University has been ranked 1st for children’s nursing, 2nd for general nursing, which includes adult and learning disability nursing, and 6th for mental health nursing in the national league table. As one of the largest providers of nursing and midwifery programmes in the country, the editors of The Guardian University Guide 2026 highlighted Northumbria’s use of innovative immersive technologies and highfidelity simulation in nurse education which replicate real clinical environments.
Several other subject areas were also ranked among the best in the UK, including product design which ranked 5th and interior design which ranked 9th. Other courses in the health professions, earth and marine sciences,
physiotherapy, English, and forensic science all performed well, ranking within the top 20.
Professor Alison Machin, Head of the School of Healthcare and Nursing Sciences at Northumbria University, said:
“This is an excellent result
for our nursing subjects and everyone in the School is delighted to see this recognition of our efforts. Our academic team includes experienced clinicians who retain strong connections to practice, and we work in close partnership with professional and regulatory bodies, NHS Trusts and private
Northumbria University has been crowned Higher Education Institution of the Year at the 2025 National Education Opportunities Network (NEON) Awards – a national celebration of individuals, partnerships, institutions, and initiatives that are widening access to higher education and driving social mobility across the UK.
providers across the region. This, combined with significant investments in immersive technologies and leading clinical skills facilities, ensures we are providing our students with an outstanding teaching and learning experience.”
Alongside teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level, Northumbria also offers degree and higher apprenticeships and an extensive range of continuing professional development opportunities for those already working in the healthcare sector.
Anyone interested in finding out more about nursing, or other subjects at Northumbria, can attend an upcoming open day or visit the University website for more information.
Click the QR code to book your open day place.
The win recognises the University’s Access and Success Framework – a sector-leading, wholeprovider approach supporting students from pre-entry through to graduation and beyond. This includes contextual admissions, targeted financial aid, employability programmes, and innovative industry collaborations offering real-world experience to students who would otherwise be without established professional networks.
“Regardless of background, Northumbria can provide the support learners need to reach their goals,” said Laura Jobling, UK Student Recruitment and Access Manager. “Over 6,900 pupils and 400 teachers are already engaged with our outreach work – and the results speak for themselves, with improved continuation rates and graduate outcomes.”
Professor Graham Wynn, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education, added: “Universities play a vital role in social mobility.
Around 60 per cent of our UK undergraduates are from the North East, and two-thirds remain here after graduation –directly addressing skills needs and creating opportunities that transform lives.”
Now in its 12th year, the NEON Awards attracted more than 100 nominations and were hosted at the Palace of Westminster. Interim Director Martin Webster praised Northumbria for making a “real difference to learners” during a challenging year for widening access. Northumbria University is committed to helping all students, regardless of background, to achieve their goals. Information on initiatives and support is available on the University’s website.
Discover more about support for students who choose to study at Northumbria.
Professor Matt Kiernan, Director of The Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research at Northumbria University has been named ‘Inspiration of the Year’ in the British Forces in Business Awards 2025.
The awards celebrate the talented veterans in business who have transitioned from military service to high-value civilian careers. Since their inception in 2018, the awards have recognised over 2,000 veterans and reservists.
Professor Kiernan served in the Royal Navy as the Head of Mental Health Nursing, a Specialist Nurse Advisor for Mental Health and the Defence Specialist Nurse Advisor (Mental Health) before taking up his appointment as a Senior Research Fellow at the Academic Department for Defence Nursing. He has focused his work on care delivery and the psychological effects of basic training on individuals.
He is now the Director of The Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research at Northumbria University and leads on a range of research projects focusing on the wellbeing and support for veterans and military families.
Reflecting on his nomination, Professor Kiernan said: “It’s an absolute honour to be shortlisted in the British Forces in Business Awards. These awards recognise some really talented individuals who have made a huge contribution to driving forward our veterans’ futures so to be recognised alongside them is an incredible feeling.
“The Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research works extremely hard to meet the needs of our veterans and their families by driving collaboration between research and practice and our achievements are testament to all of those who work so hard to drive our work forward.”
Click the QR code to find out more about Professor Matt Kiernan’s research.
“THESE AWARDS REFLECT THE EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY OF RESEARCH AT NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY AND OUR COMMITMENT TO ADVANCING HEALTHCARE THAT MAKES A REAL DIFFERENCE TO PEOPLE’S LIVES.”
PROFESSOR ALISON MACHIN
Two Northumbria University academics have been awarded competitive Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Awards (SCPRA) by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Dr Kate Hackett, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy, and Dr Allison Farnworth, Associate Professor of Maternal and Family Health, are the first Northumbria academics to receive the prestigious SCPRA awards, which provide up to five years of dedicated research funding.
Dr Hackett’s four-year award will advance groundbreaking research into nature-based approaches for managing long-term health conditions. Her work will explore how natural environments can reduce fatigue and improve quality of life for people with chronic illnesses, using innovative methods, including photography, to understand patient engagement with outdoor spaces.
“This research addresses a critical need in healthcare, examining how green social prescribing can support those most vulnerable to health disparities,” said Dr Hackett, who also serves as Honorary Consultant Occupational Therapist at Newcastle
upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Farnworth’s five-year award focuses on transforming reproductive healthcare by maximising service user input. Drawing on her 25 years of healthcare research experience and role as a practising midwife, she will develop frameworks to help clinicians better utilise patient feedback data to improve maternity care outcomes. Her research particularly targets women with complex care needs during pregnancy, addressing concerning health disparities in maternity services through collaboration with the NIHR Challenge Maternity Disparities Consortium. Both awards include extensive mentorship opportunities and international collaboration prospects, with Dr Hackett connecting with researchers in the UK and Sweden, while Dr Farnworth will undertake placement work in Melbourne, Australia.
Professor Alison Machin, Head of Northumbria’s School of Healthcare and Nursing Sciences, praised the achievement: “These awards reflect the exceptional quality of research at Northumbria University and our commitment to advancing healthcare that makes a real difference to peoples’ lives.”
The SCPRA scheme supports senior clinicians and practitioners with PhDs, providing protected research time and representing NIHR’s commitment to supporting nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals in developing research careers alongside medical professionals.
For more information about research taking place at Northumbria’s School of Healthcare and Nursing Sciences, click the QR code.
Two talented researchers from Northumbria University have been awarded a share of £120 million from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) flagship Future Leaders Fellowship fund to help advance their work in space physics and book history.
The Future Leaders Fellowship scheme supports early career researchers and innovators with outstanding potential in UK universities and organisations. The fellowships provide funding for up to seven years to develop their most exciting ideas and lead the UK’s research and innovation landscape.
Dr Charlotte Götz and Dr Helen Williams have each been awarded more than £1.2 million to further their own research. Their projects are among 77 successful applications to receive funding.
Dr Götz, Assistant Professor in Space Physics, will use her fellowship to study how comets interact with the solar wind, and what this tells us about the formation of our solar system. She is preparing to support the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Comet Interceptor mission – the only mission planned to visit a comet in the next 25 years.
“This really is a one-shot, once-in-a-lifetime mission,” said Dr Götz. “By the time this mission launches, we will have been planning it for over
10 years, and the spacecraft could spend up to five years in space waiting for the perfect target.”
For Dr Helen Williams, Associate Professor of English Literature and Co-Director of Cultural Partnerships at Northumbria University, her fellowship will allow her to work with project partners – including the British Library and the UNESCO world heritage site, the Plantin-Moretus Printing Museum in Belgium – alongside two postdoctoral scholars to recover and share the stories of women who have shaped book production across the world.
“The aim is essentially to establish a new subdiscipline of global women’s book history,” explained Dr Williams. “Bringing together print and manuscript studies and cross-examining world regions on a scale not previously seen before.”
Click the QR code to read more on this story.
Professor Allan Kellehear, one of the world’s most prominent leaders in end-of-life care and experiences, has been appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to palliative care.
As Professor of End-of-Life Care in Northumbria University’s School of Communities and Education, his work focuses on enhancing palliative care practices for the dying, their caregivers and the bereaved, through a community approach. Professor Kellehear has published 25 books and written more than 120 articles on the subject and is a former President of both the Association for the Study of Death and Society and Public Health Palliative Care International. Furthermore, while living and working in Australia, he established the Palliative Care Unit at Melbourne’s La Trobe University – the first non-clinical, public health practice-based palliative care unit in the world.
Professor Kellehear is the founder of the Compassionate Communities movement, which recognises that endof-life care is not just the responsibility of those working in the health services. The movement encourages families,
individuals, neighbours, workplaces and volunteers to come together to comfort and support those who are living with long-term health conditions, dying, caregiving and grieving. Compassionate Communities is now incorporated into our own national palliative care policies as well as many countries around the world.
Reflecting on this honour, he said: “I accept this award as positive recognition of the value and importance of the public health, or health promotion, approach to palliative care. The role of my palliative care colleagues in the UK and around the world in enlisting civic institutions into the work of supporting people at the end of life wherever they are – in schools, workplaces, faith groups, neighbourhoods or cultural organisations – is recognised by this award. I’m thrilled to bits.”
Professor Joanne Atkinson, Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor, Health and Wellbeing and a
fellow expert in end-of-life care, said: “I am so very proud to have Allan as a Professor in End-of-Life Care in the School of Communities and Education. He is a world leader, and his achievements in the field of palliative and end-oflife care are groundbreaking. His research, practice and policy work, leadership and collaborations have made a difference to so many people, those who are reaching the end of their life, their carers, the bereaved, and not forgetting professionals working in this field.”
Professor Kellehear will formally receive his OBE from a member of the Royal Family at a forthcoming Investiture ceremony.
Click the QR code to find out more about research in the School of Communities and Education.
As the world faces a looming food crisis, with the global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, Northumbria University researchers are pioneering a groundbreaking solution that could revolutionise how we grow crops.
Scientists from Northumbria’s School of Geography and Natural Sciences have secured one of only 14 prestigious grants from the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) under the ambitious Programmable Plants initiative. Led by Dr Ciarán Kelly and Dr Emma Riley, the £500,000 award will fund an 18-month project developing smart bacteria that can reprogramme crops in real-time to handle environmental stress more effectively.
Speaking about the aim of the research, Dr Kelly, Assistant Professor in Synthetic Biology, said: “Plants have evolved to prioritise survival over yield. Even moderate drought or low soil nutrients cause crops to shut down growth and switch to defensive mode – which is counter-productive when we’re trying to feed the world.”
This cautious plant behaviour means that even under manageable stress conditions, crops dramatically reduce their growth rates, leading to significant yield losses that contribute to global food insecurity.
The Northumbria team’s innovative approach involves engineering bacteria to act as intelligent go-betweens for plants and their environment. These smart bacterial conduits will monitor both environmental conditions and plant stress signals, then intervene by adjusting plant hormone levels to maintain optimal growth.
“We’re introducing rapid, dynamic control of crop behaviour in the field for the first time,” said Dr Kelly. “Instead of plants making overly cautious decisions, our bacterial partners will help them respond more appropriately to stress conditions.”
Dr Riley, whose PhD expertise in plant-bacteria interactions is crucial to the project, emphasised the safety aspect:
“We’re building on decades of research into plant growthpromoting bacteria already used safely in agriculture. Our innovation adds programmable intelligence to these proven systems.”
This technology represents a fundamental shift from conventional approaches. Rather than spending months genetically modifying plants in laboratories, the team is creating dynamic systems that can transform plant behaviour directly in farmers’ fields.
Working alongside Dr Angela Sherry, Associate Professor in Microbial Environments at Northumbria, as well as colleagues from Oxford and Leeds universities, the project is part of ARIA’s broader Programmable Plants opportunity space, which recognises plants as Earth’s most widespread biological platform –
representing 80% of global biomass.
The researchers anticipate their bacterial technology could be field-ready within 10-20 years, initially in regions where genetically modified agricultural bacteria are already approved for use.
Being selected from a highly competitive field highlights both the potential global impact of
this research and Northumbria’s growing reputation in synthetic biology and agricultural innovation.
The Smart Engineered Bacterial Conduits for Enhanced Crop Performance project runs for 18 months, with potential for additional follow-up funding based on initial results.
Click the QR code to find out more about Northumbria’s School of Geography and Natural Sciences.
Northumbria University has launched a centre of excellence with a focus on responsible artificial intelligence (AI) research and expertise. The Northumbria Centre for Responsible AI is set to be a “go-to” trusted voice in the region for knowledge and advice on key aspects of AI deployment.
The Centre unites leading academics, policymakers, and government and industry experts to advance AI education, research, and policy solutions; the aim being that no one is left behind in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Building on Northumbria’s existing strengths in Responsible AI, the Centre’s areas of focus include citizencentred AI, and AI in law enforcement, public sector governance and digital education. It will also cover emerging areas of research in the environmental impacts of AI, the educational use of AI, and the impact of AI on the creative sector.
Emphasising the importance of responsible AI, Professor Marion Oswald MBE, Professor of Law at Northumbria and academic lead for the Centre,
said: “AI has the potential to drive innovation, economic growth, and societal change, but without responsible development and governance, it can also deepen inequalities and erode trust. Our Centre is committed to shaping a future where AI is designed and used responsibly, transparently, and inclusively.”
The Centre will also play a vital role in positioning the North East as a leader in AI-enabled economic growth. With the region’s devolution deal including commitments to responsible AI use, Northumbria’s expertise will help regional stakeholders navigate AI adoption effectively.
Dr Kyle Montague, Centre Colead (research) added: “The UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan highlights the need for collaboration between
Northumbria University is providing its students and staff access to Claude for Education – a leading, innovative AI platform specifically tailored for higher education.
academia, industry, and policymakers.
Our Centre will help to ensure that the North East becomes a key player in this national strategy, equipping businesses, public services, and individuals with the knowledge and skills to harness AI responsibly and to maximise its benefits.”
Beyond research, the Centre will lead on AI education and training, ensuring students, professionals, and policymakers develop AI literacy. In its first year, the Centre will establish key stakeholder partnerships and develop training and policy guidance for public sector and industry professionals. Academics from the Centre are already working on a range of significant projects focused on ensuring that AI is applied in ways that are ethical, inclusive and socially beneficial.
Click the QR code to find out more about the Centre for Responsible AI.
With artificial intelligence rapidly transforming many aspects of our lives, Northumbria’s students and staff will now be provided with free access to tools and skills they need to succeed in the new global AI environment. Northumbria is only the second university in the UK, alongside the London School of Economics, to offer Claude for Education as a tool for its university community.
Claude for Education is a next-generation AI assistant built by Anthropic – a tech company that focuses on building reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. Claude is designed to be safe, accurate, and secure. It provides universities with ethical and transparent access to AI that ensures data security and copyright compliance, and acts as a 24/7 study partner for students, designed to guide learning and develop critical thinking rather than providing direct answers.
Recognised as a UK trailblazer in responsible AI-based research and education, Northumbria University recently launched its Centre for Responsible AI which brings together the University’s multidisciplinary expertise in citizen-centred AI to focus on how AI should be used in education, government, industry, and wider society. It is also leading a multi-million
pound UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Centre for Doctoral Training in CitizenCentred Artificial Intelligence which will train more than 60 PhD researchers – over the next eight years – to lead the way in developing AI applications and services that serve citizens as well as governments and businesses.
Professor Graham Wynn, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education, explained: “Today’s students are digitally native and many use AI routinely. They expect their universities to provide a modern, technology-enhanced education with clear guidance on responsible AI use.
“The introduction of Claude for Education will provide our students and staff with free universal access to cutting-edge AI technology, regardless of their financial circumstances.”
Claude for Education will be introduced and piloted from September 2025 from which time licenses will be automatically available to all full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students at Northumbria’s Newcastle Campuses.
Click the QR code to read more about Claude for Education.
The Conversation is a collaboration between news editors and academics to provide informed news analysis and commentary that’s free to read and republish. At Northumbria, our academics have been working with The Conversation to produce independent, quality current affairs journalism on some of the latest topics to hit the news.
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Data centres are the invisible engines of our digital world. Every Google search, Netflix stream, cloud-stored photo or ChatGPT response passes through banks of high-powered computers housed in giant facilities scattered across the globe. These data centres consume a staggering amount of electricity and increasingly, a surprising amount of water. But unlike the water you use at home, much of the supply used in datacentres is never returned to the system and reused. This silent drain is drawing concern from environmental scientists.
WILL BATTERIES OF THE FUTURE BE MADE OF? FOUR SCIENTISTS DISCUSS THE OPTIONS – PODCAST AI IS GOBBLING UP WATER IT CANNOT REPLACE –I’M WORKING ON A SOLUTION
WAKIL SHAHZAD, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Continue reading the full article at The Conversation.
ULUGBEK AZIMOV, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Continue reading the full article at The Conversation.
The majority of the world’s rechargeable batteries are now made using lithium-ion which relies on a combination of rare earth metals including cobalt and nickel.
But as global demand soars, teams of researchers are now searching for alternative, more sustainable – materials to build the batteries of the future. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to four scientists who share their work on promising new battery materials and the solutions they may offer.
Find out more about The Conversation, and keep up to date with articles by Northumbria academics, by visiting www.theconversation.com or our online newsroom at www.northumbria.ac.uk/news
prompt engineering – because the skill is in understanding AI as a conversation rather than a Google search.
We’re running roadshows across different University areas, showing what AI can do and helping people to start using it. People are starting to use it for tasks like summarising documents, analysing data, or comparing information – quite basic uses, but actually quite time-saving.
With world-class research, industry partnerships, and an unwavering focus on responsible innovation, Northumbria University is helping to ensure the North East is not only part of the UK’s AI revolution – but is leading it. Here, Chief Information Officer Simon Corbett discusses how the institution is embracing ever-evolving technologies whilst maintaining its commitment to responsible innovation and digital inclusion.
Why is it important for Northumbria to embrace AI now, and how are we doing it?
Northumbria has been at the forefront of AI adoption, innovation and education for some time, and is set to play a central role in the North East’s transformation into an AI Growth Zone, a Government and North East Combined Authority (NECA) backed initiative expected to unlock £30 billion in investment and create over 5,000 highly skilled jobs across the region.
We’ve already embedded digital and data literacy across every course – from computer science and business to law, engineering, design and the creative industries – ensuring graduates can understand, apply, and shape AI responsibly across all sectors. Through our UKRI-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in Citizen-Centred AI, we’re training over 60 PhD researchers, working with industry, government, and public sector partners on live AI challenges. Our recently launched Northumbria Centre for Responsible AI brings together experts across disciplines to ensure AI is deployed ethically
and inclusively, shaping a trusted AI future through research, education and policy.
The University has made a ground-breaking investment in providing students and staff with access to the AI platform, Claude for Education. Our undergraduates, postgraduates, apprenticeship students, and all employed staff have licences to the subscription version –access that would otherwise cost them around £20 per month. With almost 40 per cent of Northumbria students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, this investment ensures opportunities for all and helps build a pipeline of AI-ready graduates. We’re one of the only few UK universities offering comprehensive AI access, and we’ve established a strategic partnership to help shape how these tools evolve for education. The AI economy is changing rapidly – you have to be on that journey to keep pace.
How are staff and students being supported to use AI effectively and responsibly?
We have a huge programme of work underway. My team is delivering face-to-face and online training, with a lot focusing on
We also have a digital induction programme for new students that includes AI literacy as a core component. And the IT Place at Student Central provides a fantastic facility where anyone can walk in and get advice about using AI and other technologies.
I think the key is that we’re rolling this out as a tool - it’s not the definitive answer or a replacement for expertise. You still need to check things and be an expert to evaluate what AI returns. We don’t want to automate thinking, we need to remember that people remain essential experts – I don’t see AI replacing them, but it’s going to both help and change how our staff and students think.
What does responsible AI mean in practice at Northumbria?
Being responsible means several things. First, we chose our strategic partner carefully. After evaluating the major AI technologies, we chose Anthropic’s Claude for its responsible approach and educational focus. Claude is designed with responsibility built in, and we have an enterprise agreement that keeps our data secure within Northumbria’s environment.
Second, it’s about education. We’re teaching staff and students not just how to use AI, but when to use it, how to verify its outputs, and how to use it ethically. We’re working with academic colleagues to integrate it thoughtfully into modules and assessments – showing how it’s used as a tool to support learning, not replace it.
Third, we’re thinking about equity. Through our Digital Larder initiative, we’re recycling university laptops and giving them to students in need, no questions asked. We’ve established it at our Newcastle City Campus and are exploring digital community centres in areas such as South Shields and Blyth, where people can access devices, learn about AI, and connect to our virtual learning environment without needing to travel to campus.
The responsible use of AI also means being honest about challenges. AI uses a lot of power and water – that’s a fact. But we’re helping to address that too. We’ve installed an innovative cooling system in our data centre, which has been developed by a team of Northumbria scientists led by Dr Muhammad Wakil Shahzad. Trials of the system have shown it can be more energyefficient than conventional air conditioning units, and use less water. Powered entirely by solar energy, the system operates without compressors or harmful chemical refrigerants. That was a bold move – putting experimental technology in a live data centre – but it’s generating the data the team needs to prove this solution works, which will hopefully lead to Dr Shahzad being able to industrialise the product in the future.
We’ve developed an AI virtual agent called Ember to help with IT queries, such as students seeking help after forgetting their password or getting locked out of an IT system hours before an essay is due. Ember already handles over 40 per cent of out-of-hours IT queries on its own, across a service based at Northumbria known as Norman (North East Region Metropolitan Network), which fields enquiries on behalf of around 40 universities to ensure IT problems can be addressed 24/7. Ember does sentiment analysis – detecting when someone is frustrated and needs a human –and can search knowledge bases to answer questions.
We’re now looking at bringing Ember into our student portal and staff support systems. The goal isn’t to replace people, but to quickly answer straightforward queries, freeing up colleagues to focus on students and staff who genuinely need that faceto-face contact and personal support.
We’re also working with Anthropic to integrate Claude into Blackboard, our virtual learning environment. Imagine a student who’s missed a week of teaching being able to ask Claude what happened, and receiving a summary of modules released, assessments set, and key announcements. That’s the kind of seamless support we’re working towards.
Beyond AI, what other digital developments are happening?
Our new high performance computing environment will soon launch at our Cobalt data centre, which runs on renewable energy. This will dramatically increase processing power for our researchers working in areas like ice sheet modelling, solar and space physics, and genomics.
What’s significant is that this facility was designed with our researchers, not just for them. It’s their environment – we’re just the custodians. That represents a real gear shift from the past and from other institutions where IT would design and create systems, rather than them being co-created with the end users.
We’re also undertaking a major initiative on revamping our 800 teaching and learning spaces across campus. This isn’t just about the technology in classrooms and labs – it’s about the whole environment and pedagogy, making sure it feels like a modern, research-intensive university when you’re learning here.
What’s your vision for how AI will shape higher education more broadly?
We live in a world where technology shapes everyone’s life. The key is making sure people understand what technology can do for them – and critically, where it’s not appropriate.
We’ve already seen how AI can create convincing fake content. Phishing emails no longer have spelling mistakes – they’re now targeted, using information scraped from social media to create messages that look completely genuine. How do we help people, especially those who aren’t tech-savvy, navigate that? Education is crucial. If we can help people understand where technology is being helpful and where it’s being used for malicious purposes, that’s part of our role. Students graduating from Northumbria will enter a world where AI is embedded in workplaces. Knowing how to use it responsibly through their studies means they graduate with skills that will serve them throughout their careers.
The challenge – and opportunity – is moving at pace whilst staying true to our values around responsibility, inclusion, and putting people first. This technology is here to stay. The question is how we shape it to serve education’s highest purposes.
Northumbria University has teamed up with New Writing North to launch a podcast series that delivers complex academic research to mainstream audiences, showcasing the institution’s expertise across multiple disciplines while strengthening the partnership between the two organisations.
The series, entitled Pivotal, explores cultural concepts through accessible discussions hosted by journalist, academic and radio producer Angharad Hampshire. Available on Spotify, the podcast investigates ideas that shape contemporary society.
Steve Gilroy, Creative Director in Northumbria’s School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries and co-producer, stated: “The Pivotal podcast offers an opportunity to bridge the gap between academic research and public understanding, making this research easily accessible to everyone.”
The series features four episodes displaying diverse areas of academic expertise through cultural discussions. Professors Gavin Butt and Noel McLaughlin challenge negative perceptions of provincial cities by examining cultural revolutions in 1960s Belfast and 1970s Leeds. Wallace Chan and Stacey Pitsillides explore death’s universal impact on human culture, while Simon Winlow teams with Patrick Duggan to question whether resilience is always beneficial. Kate Egan and Johnny Walker investigate fear’s essential role in human experience, examining whether it should be embraced or avoided.
Episodes were recorded in Northumbria University’s state-of-the-art studios with professional sound engineering by Jon Calver and original theme music by Harrison Amer, incorporating music clips and readings for a dynamic audio experience.
This podcast represents the latest collaboration in a thirteen-year partnership between Northumbria University and New Writing North, the writing development agency for Northern England. The partnership has achieved national recognition, recently securing £5 million from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport towards a new Centre for Writing in Newcastle, with North East Mayor Kim McGuinness contributing an additional £2 million for the project.
Other collaborations between Northumbria and New Writing North include the annual Northern Writers’ Awards, an MA Publishing programme co-delivered with Hachette launched in 2022, and the Sounds Good Audio Books studio which opened on campus in 2023.
Click the QR code to listen to Pivotal on Spotify.
“I WANT TO CONGRATULATE ALL OF THIS YEAR’S AWARD WINNERS ON THE SIGNIFICANT AND POSITIVE IMPACT THEY HAVE MADE IN THEIR PROFESSION.”
PICTURED L-R: THE NUSTEM TEAM, PROFESSOR CAROL DAVENPORT; DR ANTONIO PORTAS; ANNIE PADWICK; JONATHAN SANDERSON; MEL
Researchers from an outreach group at Northumbria University are celebrating after winning a prestigious 2025 Institute of Physics (IOP) award recognising their work with children and young people across the North East and beyond.
NUSTEM works closely with schools to develop and provide activities and opportunities for children from all backgrounds to engage with the subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). They have been awarded the William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize for public engagement in physics.
The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the professional body and learned society for physics, and the leading body for practising physicists in the UK and Ireland. Its annual awards reflect the wide variety of people, places, organisations and achievements that contribute to physics as a discipline.
The recognition for Northumbria’s NUSTEM team, made up of experienced teachers, researchers and outreach specialists, comes as they recently celebrated the milestone of 10 years of STEM engagement with children, families and teachers which has already won regional and national acclaim.
The citation from the IOP Awards Committee says the NUSTEM team have been recognised: “For pioneering new methodologies and pedagogies in physical sciences outreach and engagement, taking a nuanced, long-term approach to supporting children’s physics and career identity
across the North-East England and beyond.”
The Sir William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize honours the Scottish-Irish mathematician and physicist, best known for his work on thermodynamics. This included work on the absolute temperature scale. The unit of absolute temperature, the kelvin, is named after him.
Since NUSTEM’s launch over 10 years ago, Professor Carol Davenport and her team have undertaken thousands of hours of work with children from pre-school age through to those leaving secondary school. They have shared the benefits and opportunities that working in science-related subjects can bring to inspire future generations of scientists and engineers and support efforts to diversify the sector.
Professor Davenport, Director of NUSTEM, said: “It’s fantastic to see NUSTEM’s work to support even the youngest learners to explore possible future careers through educational experiences recognised by such a prestigious organisation as the Institute of Physics.
“The Institute of Physics was one of the partners of NUSTEM when we began in 2014. Their ethos very much matches our own that STEM subjects
should be accessible to all. We believe that by supporting children, families and their teachers to identify how their personal attributes align with the attributes of people that work in STEM, children and those around them will feel more confident that a career in STEM is attainable.”
Congratulating this year’s Award winners, the Institute of Physics
President Professor Michele Dougherty CBE, said: “On behalf of the Institute of Physics, I want to congratulate all of this year’s award winners on the significant and positive impact they have made in their profession, be it as a researcher, teacher, industrialist, technician or apprentice, and I hope they are incredibly proud of their achievements.
“I hope our winners appreciate they are playing an important role in this community and know how proud we are to celebrate their successes – I hope their stories will help to inspire current and future generations of scientists.”
Click the QR code to discover more about the work of NUSTEM.
As the UK races to become a world leader in commercial space launches by 2030, a Northumbria University academic is ensuring this cosmic ambition doesn’t result in negative implications for communities here on Earth.
Northumbria’s Dr Pete Howson has embarked on groundbreaking research into the emerging commercial space industry, known as NewSpace, studying how spaceport developments worldwide impact local communities, indigenous populations, and wildlife.
His work comes at a crucial time as the UK government’s National Space Strategy outlines ambitious plans to unlock growth in the space sector through the development of licensed spaceport sites.
The UK’s strategic advantages are clear – its extensive coastline and island geography make it ideally suited for both horizontal spaceplane launches and vertical rocket deployments. Sites are already under development in Cornwall, Wales, and Scotland, with the Scottish Highlands, Outer Hebrides, and Shetland Islands identified as prime locations. Work has begun on Spaceport 1 in North Uist, while Orbex plans to develop the Sutherland Spaceport in the Highlands.
Dr Howson’s research takes him around the world, and he has examined facilities from SpaceX’s Starbase in South Texas to the Andøya Space rocket launch site in northern Norway, and proposed developments on Indonesia’s Biak Island.
This extensive fieldwork includes crucial conversations with indigenous communities directly affected by spaceport operations, including Norway’s Sámi reindeer herders and Scotland’s crofters.
The research reveals significant challenges often overlooked in the excitement surrounding space development.
“Many of these spaceports are built in what seems like sparsely populated areas, but for the people who do live and work nearby, they can have a massive impact, not to mention the effect on wildlife,” Dr Howson explains.
In Sweden’s Kiruna region, for example, the Esrange spaceport has established a 5,600 square kilometre ‘impact zone’ where rocket debris might fall after launches. This forces Sámi herders to relocate their reindeer with just days’
notice, disrupting traditional migration patterns that have sustained their communities for generations.
Dr Howson recently shared his international expertise with the Sutherland Spaceport Community Liaison Group, contributing valuable insights that will shape future development decisions. His involvement demonstrates how academic research can directly influence policy and practice in emerging industries.
“It is possible for the UK to lead on the development of technology in this field while maintaining a reputation for being equitable and
“IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE UK TO LEAD ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY IN THIS FIELD WHILE MAINTAINING A REPUTATION FOR BEING EQUITABLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE.”
DR PETE HOWSON
environmentally sustainable,” Dr Howson states. “This approach will set us apart from other places and make the UK a more attractive option for investment by businesses which share our values.”
His research aims to conduct one of the world’s first comprehensive analyses of NewSpace industries, collaborating with artists, activists, indigenous groups, and other stakeholders across the UK, Scandinavia, and the United States.
This interdisciplinary approach ensures space development considers human rights, environmental protection, and social justice alongside technological advancement.
Click the QR code to find out more about how Northumbria University is powering the next generation of space innovation.
Researchers at Northumbria University have made a breakthrough in developing a new type of ‘microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation’ device, known as a maser.
Masers are devices that produce electromagnetic waves, similar to a laser but operating at microwave frequencies instead of light, and with the ability to detect and amplify extremely weak electromagnetic signals without adding additional noise. The technology has many potential uses, including the production of more sensitive magnetic resonance body scanners, such as those used in airports. Although maser technology was first discovered in the 1950s, its development has remained limited due to the complex and costly conditions required – namely extremely
low temperatures, a vacuum environment, and a strong magnetic field.
Associate professor in Northumbria’s School of Engineering, Physics and Mathematics, Dr Juna Sathian is one of the UK’s leading experts in maser technology and has previously worked with colleagues at Imperial College London and University College London to develop a roomtemperature maser which works using laser light. However, this method is expensive and difficult to replicate in everyday applications.
Two years ago, she was awarded a New Investigator Award from the government’s Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) aimed at exploring the use of LEDs to create an affordable, energy efficient alternative type of maser, which could be used in quantum technologies, deepspace communications, and portable sensing devices.
Since then, Dr Sathian has led an all-woman team of researchers to develop a maser which is able to operate at room temperature using LED
lights, eliminating the need for costly lasers or flashlamps. An academic paper detailing their breakthrough, entitled ‘LEDpumped room-temperature solid-state maser’, has now been published in Communications Engineering, part of the prestigious Nature portfolio.
paper, with her meticulous and sustained experimental efforts integral to achieving the LEDpumped maser’s successful operation. Dr Sathian is committed to encouraging more young people, especially young women, into STEM subjects, and is a committee member of the
leading this research.
“Realising this breakthrough required persistence, creativity, and precision across many disciplines, from materials design to photonic engineering, and I’m incredibly proud of the collaborative spirit and scientific rigour our team has shown. Having the right people, with the right mix of skills and a shared vision, was absolutely critical to achieving what has eluded the field for decades.
Carrying out the research alongside Dr Sathian is Dr Bethan Ford – a Senior Technician within Northumbria’s Faculty of Energy and Environment, whose foundational postdoctoral work was critical to establishing the maser platform.
Final-year PhD student Sophia Long is the first author of the
Institute of Physics’ Women in Physics Group, as well as Head of Physics at Northumbria. Speaking about the research, she said: “This pioneering work represents a significant advancement towards affordable, energy-efficient maser technology and highlights the exceptional contributions of our team of women scientists
“This is just the beginning. The future of maser research lies in developing compact, scalable systems that can be integrated into next-generation quantum and photonic platforms. We are now working to extend this technology into new materials, broader frequency ranges, and real-world applications, bringing masers from lab curiosity to everyday utility.”
Click here to find out more about studying Physics at Northumbria University.
Northumbria University’s hands-on approach to learning is providing highly skilled graduates for the workforce and helping to drive the region’s economy
By: Abby Young-Powell
When lawyers at Northumbria University’s Student Law Office (SLO) were approached by a man who appeared to have been wrongfully imprisoned for eight years for armed robbery, they believed their students could help. At the SLO, students research, interview, and sometimes represent clients on a pro bono basis, all supervised by experienced lawyers. They were right – students successfully worked to get Alex Allan’s conviction overturned back in the early 2000s and, after taking his case to the court of appeal, he was paid £170,000 in compensation for the miscarriage of justice. Since then, real-world learning at Northumbria University has been driving change, helping the local community and powering the economy in the north-east.
While most cases at the SLO, set up in the 1980s to give students real-world law experience, are less high profile than Allan’s, they are no less impactful for the clients at the centre of them.
“We get a lot of demand,” says Dr Jonny Hall, a solicitor who worked on part of Allan’s case and is now the university’s academic lead for all aspects of experiential learning. Students typically work in pairs, spending some 10-15 hours a week on real-life cases across areas of law including family, crime and human rights as part of their third-year studies. “They gain skills and experience but also knowledge and attributes,” Hall says. “The SLO introduces students to the reality of how lawyers might be able to help people.”
The SLO is just one example of how the university is integrating real-world learning within its courses, helping
both students and those living, working and trading in the local area. The Business Clinic is a similar initiative. Final-year business students consult and advise national and international companies, local SMEs, social enterprises and charities on business problems, from helping a home fragrance business with its latest marketing campaign to supporting the RNLI with a series of events and fundraising ideas to help sustain the future of its base in the nearby seaside town of Cullercoats.
“It’s embedded into the curriculum – we’ve made it an integral part of their degree –and that’s important because students then have the time to devote to it,” Hall says.
“It’s not just about learning by doing, it’s about students applying the knowledge they are gaining in the real world to further their understanding, skills and future careers. Alongside this, they are contributing to the local economy and community – the benefits really are widespread.”
The majority of the university’s undergraduate degree programmes already include real-world learning,
and Northumbria’s goal for the future is for every UK-based undergraduate student to take part in this transformative learning as part of their studies.
Many courses, such as nursing, education and social work, already require students to spend a significant percentage of their time on
placement, developing the skills they need in a real-life environment. The university has enhanced the way these students train by investing in VR technologies which provide simulation scenarios to help them prepare and rehearse in a safe environment on campus, before they face similar scenarios in the real world.
FINAL-YEAR BUSINESS STUDENTS FROM THE BUSINESS CLINIC WORK ON A RANGE OF REAL-WORLD PROJECTS SUCH AS SUPPORTING THE RNLI WITH FUNDRAISING AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS. PHOTOGRAPH: SIMON VEIT-WILSON
This ethos carries through to other courses. Physiotherapy students help patients with real issues in the Physiotherapy clinic, supervised by a chartered physiotherapist. Law and history students have collaborated to dig into legal archives, while fashion students work with major-label brands on live projects including design, marketing and social media campaigns, many of which have led to employment after graduation. “It’s a really important part of what we’re trying to do across the university,” Hall says. “We’re trying to make these kinds of connections to the outside world, and to real experience,” he says. “Each student goes on an individual journey, and for most I
would say it enhances both their learning experience and their career prospects.”
This approach has helped Northumbria University drive social mobility and power an inclusive economy in the north-east, an integral part of the university’s mission.
“Northumbria places more graduates in highly skilled north-east positions than any other university,” says Prof Graham Wynn, the university’s pro-vice-chancellor (education).
“We do this by constantly evolving our education offer to be ever-more responsive to the educational needs of our students and our region.”
This creates a pipeline of talent for the area’s economy and beyond – the university supplies
policing, nursing and social work apprentices in the region, as well as healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs and skilled graduates for established and emerging sectors.
“I think Northumbria is a great example of a university that really is very focused on its economic mission and that means making sure students get good jobs on graduating, or create jobs for themselves and other people,” says Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, which has recently published
reports on the skills needed by employers over the next decade and the economic impact of startup and spinout businesses originating from universities. “The university works hard to make sure students can show prospective employers what they have done that has realworld applicability and will make them really attractive.”
One of the university’s great success stories is iamproperty, a business founded by two Northumbria graduates in 2009, with support from
the university. It has since grown to become a business with annual revenues of £76m, making it one of the UK’s largest residential auctioneer companies, employing more than 700 people. However, back in 2008, founders Ben Ridgway and Jamie Cooke were just two 24-year-olds with an idea.
“[The university] was able to give us a small two-man office in the business centre that covered our phone bills, print bills and post bills for that first year,” Cooke says. “They put us in contact with advisers, helped with our accounting process and legals and that was really, really helpful.”
Without the university’s backing, he says, it would have been difficult for the fledgling company to get off the ground.
“I’d like to think we would have got there, but I know for a fact that our growth would have been stunted without the support that we had,” Cooke says. “They knew we were wet behind the ears and they put their arms around us and helped us.”
Now, iamproperty recruits graduates from Northumbria University because the founders value the real-world learning students get there. “We were really looking back to the university as a talent pool to recruit from because we knew the kind of education and the knowledge people were coming out with, and we knew they were hands-on, that they’d had the level of experiences that we had had,” Cooke says. “We attend all its graduate fairs … to make sure we’re bringing in a really high calibre of people with a real base knowledge that we can push on from.”
Overall, Northumbria University’s emphasis on experiential learning is supporting local communities and businesses, and beyond. The SLO, Business Clinic and success stories like iamproperty are examples of how “economic powerhouses” such as Northumbria University are powering an inclusive economy that benefits everyone, says Stern. “There are seeds of tangible, meaningful growth that will mean people in the north-east have access to better jobs, and money and investment coming into the region,” she says. “And that matters – that really matters. People can feel it in their everyday lives.”
With its unprecedented climb up the research rankings, this north-east university is now producing real, research-led solutions to today’s challenges.
By: Polly Dunbar
Diagnosing lung conditions has traditionally been a difficult – and very expensive – task. Obtaining fluid samples from deep inside organs which are tucked away within our ribcage can’t be done without a highly invasive, risky procedure. And most sampling devices can’t tell the difference between fluids from the lung and ones from the mouth, often leading to unclear or misleading diagnoses.
As a result, millions of patients with common, chronic conditions such as asthma have been left waiting years for effective treatment, while millions of others have been hospitalised with pneumonias impossible to diagnose with current tests.
All that is set to change with the launch of a new handheld device later this year, developed by Dr Sterghios A Moschos, a renowned molecular biologist and visiting professor at Northumbria University, which will revolutionise the diagnosis of these diseases.
the breath as the patient exhales and separates the droplets that come from the mouth from those found deep in the lung. It has been shown in clinical studies to help quantify lung infections and inflammation in 100% of symptomatic cases.
“PBM-Hale has the potential to transform respiratory care,” says Moschos. “It is more than 40 times cheaper than endoscopy, where a tube is inserted into the lung, which carries a one-in-seven risk of injury.
“There are seven different types of asthma, and we hope this will allow doctors to quickly diagnose not just the condition but the exact type, without having to try several different kinds of treatment to see if the patient responds.”
The new breathsampling technology by PulmoBioMed, a Northumbria University spin-out founded by Moschos in 2020, offers a fast, non-invasive and inexpensive way to test for lung conditions. Called the PBM-Hale, it captures
The device is one of a growing number of pioneering innovations being developed by researchers at Northumbria University to tackle some of the biggest real-world challenges facing us, regionally, nationally and globally. The first to be commercialised, the PBM-Hale is likely to be followed soon by the portable Solar2Water system developed by the university’s department of mechanical and
construction engineering, which uses solar energy to extract moisture from the air and turn it into water. The unit could be a gamechanger for remote regions where there is no grid connection or water availability nearby. Running on solar energy alone, it can be deployed quickly and easily to any location, such as army camps and field hospitals, or to support displaced communities in refugee camps and disaster zones.
Moschos credits much of the success of his innovation to the support he received from the university at every step of the process. “Since I arrived at Northumbria in 2016 and told them the idea I was working on, I couldn’t have asked for more,” he says. “They gave me everything I needed to create the device, supported the patent and
PulmoBioMed raised an extraordinary £1.4m in an investment round last year to help grow its business, as well as a £700,000 grant from Innovate UK.
It’s these kinds of groundbreaking advances that have powered Northumbria’s meteoric rise through the ranks for research: in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF2021), Northumbria made the biggest leap of any UK university in research power, climbing from 50th in 2014 to 23rd in 2021. It was the second time Northumbria achieved this impressive feat, after previously rising from 80th place in 2008. Building on this momentum, and with a mission to create new knowledge that shapes change, Northumbria is investing in, and attracting funding for, new research innovations that will have an impact on society and
Technology centre (NESST). A state-of-the-art facility being developed by the university, NESST is the result of a £50m investment with partners including the UK Space Agency and Lockheed Martin UK Space that will create new knowledge and skills intended to transform the UK’s space economy.
“We doubled the value of our research awards in the last year,” says Prof Louise Bracken, Northumbria’s pro vice-chancellor for research and knowledge exchange. “Not only does that money fund more research, it also demonstrates the value of that research to
The university’s social mobility ethos – approximately 40% of its undergraduates are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and 65% are from the northeast region – also
underpins many of its research projects.
Overcoming social inequities is central to all the research done by another of its biggest schemes, the Centre for Health and Social Equity (CHASE).
“We’re working with people experiencing homelessness, vulnerable adults, children and young people and veterans, to drive policy to better serve their needs. We want to ensure our research has tangible benefits for society and the environment. That’s our USP at Northumbria,” says Bracken. The principle of benefiting society is also at the heart of the
work being done by professor of law Marion Oswald MBE, who leads a flagship research project.
The multimillion-pound PROBabLE Futures project, in collaboration with several other universities as well as partners from law enforcement and commercial tech, explores how AI can be adopted responsibly in law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
The “probable” in PROBabLE Futures refers to the fact that AI produces results which are probabilities, but not certainties. This means that great care needs to be taken when using AI in the
criminal justice system to avoid unfairness and miscarriages of justice.
“We’re looking at how these AI systems are being used in policing, potentially becoming part of criminal justice – in the US, they’re even being used to help determine sentences –and then in prisons and with probation,” she says. “We’re also thinking about whether this sector should have new independent oversight.”
The team’s AI checklist for policing has recently been adopted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council – an instance of the university’s research
A MOSCHOS AT NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY, IS SET TO REVOLUTIONISE DIAGNOSIS OF
making a significant impact in the real world.
It is this type of outward facing research that has inspired the university’s brand-new Northumbria Centre for Responsible AI.
“As AI becomes widespread, we’re pulling together all the research, experience and expertise at the university to look at how we make sure it’s being used for the public good,” says Oswald. “It’s one of the biggest issues of our time, so it’s really exciting.”
Many applications of AI are relatively mundane, but others will have far-reaching
consequences for people’s lives, “like deciding whether somebody should get a government benefit or not, or deciding whether somebody should be put on a police watchlist”, she says. “We’re concerned that the public sector thinks very carefully about how it implements this technology and that people should have the skills and knowledge to navigate this new AI-informed world.”
Getting more school-age children to believe university is a genuine option and giving them the confidence to pursue highly skilled work at the end of it, is key to the north-east university’s focus on turning potential into success.
By: Rachel Williams
From support for an outreach centre that helps children as young as seven with their schoolwork to academics researching the benefits of a universal basic income, a commitment to driving social mobility and tackling inequality is deeply ingrained in Northumbria University’s DNA.
Participation in higher education remains lower in the north-east of England than in other parts of the country, and while Northumbria has an impressive record on access — 40% of its students come from areas with low rates of higher education participation, the highest of any researchintensive university — it’s constantly striving to ensure students from all backgrounds can excel.
For vicechancellor Prof Andy Long, what makes Northumbria stand out is its recognition that social mobility for universities is not just about students getting in — the business of “widening participation” — but getting on: making sure they have all they need to do well both in their studies and when they graduate. Long has set an ambitious new target: making sure that by 2030, students from low-participation backgrounds are just as likely as any of their peers to be in highly
skilled work or further study 15 months after they graduate.
“It’s no good just chipping away at the gap in outcomes,” he says.
“We want to eliminate it.”
That means making sure courses are taught flexibly in a way that fits around other demands students may be juggling, such as caring responsibilities or doing parttime work to support themselves. Students facing extra challenges, such as care leavers or caregivers, are given additional support through schemes such as NU Belong or the Higher Education Without Barriers fund.
Most important for Long is a drive to include meaningful experiential learning — learning by doing — in every programme, so students who may have no links with the world of work associated with their studies have the opportunity to realise they could flourish in it.
Final-year law students, for instance, work alongside a qualified solicitor from the student law office doing pro bono work in the community, while business school students act as “consultants” for local companies.
“I’ve spoken to law students who will tell me they don’t know anyone who works in the legal profession,” Long says. “Our approach ensures they can make
those links that then give them the experience and confidence to think they could pursue it as a career.”
When it comes to raising aspirations, Northumbria’s Allstars guidance programme offers outreach sessions at schools across the north-east and priority access to university taster days and scholarships. And in 2021, Northumbria worked with the charity IntoUniversity, together with Newcastle University, to open the region’s first IntoUniversity centre, where seven to 18-year-olds experiencing disadvantage can get support with academic work, university applications and more, plus opportunities such as visits from employers, mentoring and work experience.
This centre, in Newcastle’s east end, has worked with more than 2,000 students so far — with 64% of leavers going on to higher education — and a second centre, in Gateshead, will open in September.
Ryder Architecture, a longterm partner of the university, supports IntoUniversity through Northumbria’s Higher Education Without Barriers fund, and offers work experience and workshops with its people.
Managing director Mark Thompson says: “IntoUniversity helps us put more structure around our work with school-age children and young people, and links it to an outcome too, where students are actively encouraged to consider university. Anything that inspires somebody to push themselves academically and want
to do more has to be a good thing.”
The company, which helped Northumbria University develop its architecture degree apprenticeship, has put colleagues through the course, and has provided work placement opportunities for Northumbria students across the business.
“We do well out of it as well,” says Thompson, who studied at the university back when it was Newcastle Polytechnic. “There’s a business benefit to unearthing people on our doorstep who might otherwise go into different careers.”
At Bede academy, a local school in Blyth, Northumberland, and longtime Allstars partner,
Northumbria University has been instrumental in the development and delivery of a new T-level course in health. The course is equivalent to three A-levels and designed as an alternative route to university and careers in the NHS and social care.
As well as supporting the school with the design of the curriculum and upskilling staff to deliver the course, Northumbria helped create a brand new healthcare training facility that simulates a hospital environment, giving students hands-on experience.
“Northumbria has been absolutely phenomenal in supporting us,” says the school’s principal, Andrew Thelwell, who
BEDE ACADEMY’S PARTNERSHIP WITH NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY HAS LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW QUALIFICATION AND HEALTHCARE TRAINING FACILITY.
PRINCIPAL ANDREW THELWELL IS PICTURED BACK RIGHT
STUDENTS FROM NU ALLSTARS PARTNER INSTITUTIONS ACCEPTING SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS IN THEIR FIRST SEMESTER AT NORTHUMBRIA
pays tribute to the university’s “strong moral purpose” around social mobility. “We can’t speak highly enough of their dedication, commitment and passion.”
But it’s not just about the facilities, Thelwell says — or even the professional workplace uniforms the university provides that are worn proudly by the students every day. “Our students are working alongside university staff at the age of 16 or 17, and building professional relationships with them,” he says. “They start to see themselves heading towards university — it becomes something very real for them. And that really is transformative.”
The first cohort of students are now finishing their first year, and the vast majority are expected to apply for university places. Northumbria will provide support with that process too, and the school is now exploring future partnerships around sports education.
It’s clear that the university recognises the important role it plays in transforming lives in all aspects of its work, with Northumbria’s dedication to addressing inequality extending to its research too. Researchers within its Centre for Health and Social Equity are working to drive policy reform with the Healthy Living Lab, which explores the links between public health and food insecurity, playing a pivotal role in encouraging the government to invest millions in national school breakfast and holiday clubs to better support children and families.
Ultimately, Long says, equality of opportunity is an issue for society as a whole. “If you don’t pay attention to this, everybody will be worse off.
I want everybody to have the opportunity to succeed, whatever their background.”
From investing in new writers to developing a major new film studio, the region is enjoying a cultural renaissance and Northumbria University is right at the heart of it.
By Debbie McQuoid
There has been no shortage of creative talent from the northeast. The region’s writers have created work that has educated generations (Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories) and been reimagined by Hollywood (Lee Hall’s Billy Elliot). Even those not from the region have chosen to base their most famous creations there (Ann Cleeves’ Vera).
Approximately 60,000 people are now working in the wider region’s creative and cultural industries, and north-east mayor Kim McGuinness wants to see this increase. Her 10-year local growth plan aims to transform the north-east into a cultural powerhouse to rival current heavyweights, such as London and Glasgow.
“We want to treat our culture and creative industries the same way we treat green energy, advanced manufacturing or other traditional sectors that you would expect of the north-east,” McGuinness says. “As mayor, I’m going to make sure we put our money where our mouth is.”
Cally Taylor, better known as CL Taylor.
“Northumbria [University] plays a strong role in helping us build an ecosystem of culture and creativity,” explains McGuinness. “They’re a really important partner.”
One significant recent investment is £5m from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to create a new writing centre for the region. The campaign to establish the new centre, set to be based within Newcastle’s historic cultural and creative zone, known as Creative Central NCL, was led by the charity New Writing North in partnership with the university. Including audio studios and event spaces, the centre will have extensive collaborative working and teaching spaces dedicated to
At the heart of this plan is Northumbria University, which has produced a host of distinguished creative alumni, including Apple’s former chief design officer Sir Jony Ive, Oscar-winning cinematographer Lol Crawley (The Brutalist), and bestselling author
innovation within the publishing industry and provide students with sector-specific learning experiences. This is part of a broader, ambitious plan to integrate such opportunities across all undergraduate courses.
“We’re keen to widen access to the publishing industry,” says Dr Neil Percival, co-director of cultural partnerships at the university. “The real-world learning experiences students will gain from working with these partners will make them a key part of the future of the
creative and cultural sector in the region.”
McGuinness agrees, adding that “the national centre for writing will be a jewel in our crown”.
The university has other key partnerships, including Live Theatre, a theatre company specialising in new writing that provides students with access to rehearsals and delivers an industry-focused module; North East Museums, which includes teaching and research around heritage, curation and community wellbeing; and the
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE IS HOME TO A THRIVING CREATIVE SECTOR, WITH NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY AT THE HEART OF IT. PHOTOGRAPH: GANNET77/GETTY IMAGES
of powers over culture and the creative industries.
“Our research with our partners helps to break down barriers to access within the creative industries,” says Percival. “We’re able to give our cultural partners solid, evidence-based understanding of the impact of what they do … That, in turn, helps them meet local needs and bid for funding for further development, as well as helping to shape policy decisions much further afield in Westminster.”
Known for its natural beauty (the region has two Unesco world heritage sites in Durham Cathedral and Hadrian’s Wall and more than 300 miles of coastline), the north-east also hopes to further cement its place as a prime film location. A major move in this direction is the plan for the new Crown Works Studio in Sunderland, which will grow to include 19 sound stages, a vendor village and backlot. Crown Works received a £25m investment from the north-east devolution deal and will help create more than 8,000 jobs.
Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, which offers bespoke postgraduate training designed especially for Northumbria students.
“With Live Theatre, our creative writing students have been able to see their scripts read on stage, with professional actors and a creative director,” says Percival.
“Our partnership with North East Museums provides placement opportunities and projects on their sites all over the region for students across many subject areas including
education, health and law, not only within the arts, and our fine art students have their graduation show professionally curated at Baltic and other galleries in Newcastle.
“You can’t replicate that kind of real-world experience. They are very powerful, transformational opportunities that would be difficult to come by without the cultural connections we provide,” he says.
And the university’s involvement doesn’t just benefit its students, with
experience in this region,” he says. “The north-east as a whole is very much on the rise. It’s fully deserving of that chance and that funding.
“There’s a mass of incredibly talented crew and cast [here],” he says. “It’s an incredibly beautiful place to film, and a very friendly place to film as well, and in general, the locations and studios go unsung in terms of praise, because the attention is focused on London, Manchester or Glasgow.”
Like the film industry, the music industry is now seeing the enormous potential in the northeast too.
its research opening up opportunities for communities that don’t traditionally have access to creative industries.
The university was an instrumental founder of A Writing Chance, working with actor and philanthropist Michael Sheen, New Writing North and other partners to open access to the writing industries for writers from working class, low income or minority backgrounds, and it is leading on a national £3.9m research programme that fosters creative communities and promotes the devolution
Northumbria already has a partnership with the British Film Institute, and, through its work with all five regional universities to maximise opportunities for graduates and producers, can see enormous potential emerging from the development, making the region an even more attractive destination for students wanting to work in a vast range of roles connected with the film-making industry.
It’s something Gabriel Brown is excited for. Graduating from the university’s film and TV production course in 2021, Brown now combines work on productions such as ITV’s Vera and BBC’s Smoggie Queens, with running his own company, Terabithia Pictures.
“There is just so much opportunity and so much
The 2025 Mobo awards were held in February at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena and the Mercury Prize will also be hosted there in October, the first time this event has been held outside London. Meanwhile, industry giant Warner Music UK has announced ambitious plans to open a major studio facility in the heart of Newcastle, working closely with Generator, an organisation dedicated to nurturing and growing musical talent in the region – all of which is contributing to the northeast’s transformation into a region that meets cultural needs.
“Having access to things you enjoy, whether that be a choir in your local community centre, or going to the Stadium of Light to see Bruce Springsteen – that whole range of cultural opportunities should exist for you,” says McGuinness. “It’s about mass participation.”
Percival agrees. “Go out and see things,” he says. “Get your kids involved. Let your young people see the career routes available to them in the north-east, so that they have a fair crack at the whip.”
Learners from a pioneering and inclusive programme on the importance of public involvement in research were among thousands of students celebrating the end of their studies at Northumbria University’s summer graduation ceremonies.
Almost 20 individuals with experience of homelessness, mental health trauma and the criminal justice system were given the opportunity to study towards a formal qualification at Northumbria, while sharing their life experiences to help inform ongoing academic research. After studying on two separate modules taught at Northumbria’s Coach Lane Campus over the past two years, a number of the students completed a Certificate of Public Involvement and Co-Production in Research, opening the door to a future many of them could never have imagined.
For 52-year-old Tara Scott from Carlisle, the opportunity has given her the qualifications and experience needed to secure a place on her first undergraduate degree programme – a BSc (Hons) in Psychology with Counselling and Psychotherapy in her home city.
“I’m really proud of how far I’ve come,” said Tara, who works as a Community Engagement Coordinator for the charity, Mind. “I’d never set foot inside a university and my experience at Northumbria has really changed my perception. I was made to feel at ease, and significantly equal. I was encouraged to be curious and free to express myself, which really boosted my confidence.”
Tara’s achievement marks a new chapter in her life. Following her own mental health struggles eight years ago, she found herself admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of psychotic depression. During her recovery she began volunteering with Mind and, using her own experience, now works to support and improve the lives of others.
Toby Brandon, Professor in Mental Health and Disability at Northumbria and one of the teaching staff on the modules, said: “It’s important for our social mission as a university that we have found this route to flip the traditional narrative of who is the researcher (expert) and who is the researched (nonexpert). We also recognise the impact a university education can have on positively shifting identities for someone who has been labelled as a ‘patient’ or ‘unemployed’ for a large part of their life to become a student, graduate or even a paid researcher. We were immensely proud to welcome our first cohort of graduates from these modules to collect their certificates and celebrate their achievements at our graduation ceremonies.”
Click the QR code to read more about some of the graduates and their journeys.
Film enthusiasts can now view work by Northumbria students on the British Film Institute’s BFI Player, which has presented the cohort with the opportunity to gain national exposure as part of a live brief.
Students from Northumbria’s Film programme recently took part in the BFI’s New Perspectives project, which involved producing a series of short introductions to spotlight titles from the BFI Player. This is the second year Northumbria students have taken part in the project, with six films from the most recent cohort being selected to feature on the BFI Player, alongside two from the previous year. The chosen student introductions accompany professionally produced and directed films; Pusher, Fish Tank, Nosferatu, Tangerine, La Haine, Sonatine, Wings of Desire and Old Boy. The opportunity to create professional-standard content for a major industry platform has proved popular among students. Grace Beaumont, part of the group introducing the film Fish Tank, said:
“We couldn’t be happier to have had this opportunity and be able to see our work on the BFI Player. Having our voice on a platform for anyone to see has inspired us to carry on with our film efforts and has motivated us to express ourselves more in regard to film.”
The New Perspectives project is one of several initiatives which has taken place since Northumbria University partnered with the BFI three years ago. In addition to this live brief, students benefit from guest lectures by industry professionals, specialist employability events, and networking opportunities, as well as their own BFI Player subscription that is also available to staff.
Notably, the partnership addresses a critical need in the North East’s developing screen sector, with many students
facing challenges when seeking industry experience, which is traditionally concentrated in London and the Southeast. It facilitates crucial connections to the national film and television landscape while supporting local talent development. The partnership has recently been renewed for a further three years and will expand beyond film studies. There are exciting plans for BFI sessions in History and Creative Writing, as well as collaborative research projects, demonstrating the interdisciplinary value of the partnership.
Click the QR code to find out more about Northumbria’s partnership with the BFI.
A kitchenware product created by Northumbria design students is now on sale nationwide — just two years after being sketched out in the classroom.
Every year, students at Northumbria’s School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries partner with global homeware giant Lifetime Brands to pitch fresh product ideas. In 2023, they were challenged to design a kitchenware item — and in a rapid turnaround from concept to creation, their innovation has made it to stores across the UK.
The project provides students from the MA Design and MA Fashion Design programmes with the opportunity to work in teams on a live brief, creating a realistic and creative environment for designers working in industry. The students were asked to focus on the experience of storing, preparing, cooking, eating and drinking when designing their kitchenware product. In response, a team of four, including Shrey Trivedi, Lewis Kingsley, Adnan Sunny and Kenny McRae, transformed the idea of a classic cafetière and designed a novel product specifically for loose-leaf tea. Lifetime Brands was so impressed that for the first time, they created and launched the product, which is now available to purchase online at retailers such as B&Q and Debenhams, and in store. The students’ creation, the La Cafetière Gyro Spinfuser Teapot, allows looseleaf tea to be more effectively brewed according to individual preferences by gently spinning the tea to release its flavour until it reaches the perfect strength.
Shrey Tridvedi, who graduated in 2023 with a Master’s degree in Design, explained: “Working with Lifetime Brands was a brilliantly immersive experience. It gave us a great opportunity to work as designers with a real client.
And, whilst we weren’t expecting there to be a physical outcome, we are thrilled that our design has come to life and will be used in homes across the country.”
Professor Graham Wynn, Pro ViceChancellor for Education at Northumbria University, said: “Shrey and his team exemplify how experiential learning creates pathways to career success for our students. Working on live industry briefs sparks genuine enthusiasm, builds professional confidence, and
develops practical expertise that employers value. At Northumbria, we value and integrate experiential learning throughout our degree programmes. Congratulations to this talented team of Master’s students!”
Northumbria has partnered with Lifetime Brands for eight consecutive years. The live brief is a way of generating fresh ideas and bringing in new knowledge to the organisation from a diverse range of backgrounds. Matthew
“WORKING WITH LIFETIME BRANDS WAS A BRILLIANTLY IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE. IT GAVE US A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO WORK AS DESIGNERS WITH A REAL CLIENT. AND, WHILST WE WEREN’T EXPECTING THERE TO BE A PHYSICAL OUTCOME, WE ARE THRILLED THAT OUR DESIGN HAS COME TO LIFE AND WILL BE USED IN HOMES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.”
SHREY TRIVEDI, MA DESIGN GRADUATE
Canwell, President of Lifetime Brands International, said: “We genuinely love the collaboration with Northumbria University. It provides such a platform of fresh minds with unlimited and unhindered ideas that are of such significant value as we move through the project. If a product doesn’t come to fruition, that’s fine, the value isn’t just in getting a new product to market but the insight and research the students undertake on their journey.”
As of September, Northumbria University now offers the new
MA/MSc Industrial Design programme. The highly specialised course combines the creative elements of technology, engineering, artistic expression, and business entrepreneurship with industrial design. Students on this programme will also have the opportunity to take part in a live brief with Lifetime Brands.
Click the QR code to find out more about the course.
Northumbria University Fashion student Harry Russell has been awarded with a prestigious national bursary from famous livery brand the Drapers’ Company and the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT).
Final-year Fashion BA (Hons) student Harry Russell was selected as one of just 10 students across the UK to receive the prestigious Drapers’ x UKFT Bursary – a competitive programme that supports placement opportunities with financial support and tailored industry mentoring.
The Drapers’ Company, a historic trade body turned grant-giving organisation, partners with UKFT, to provide financial and professional support to students undertaking internships they might otherwise be unable to afford.
Harry, from Sunderland, says his course has already provided him with hands-on experience in all areas of fashion design, such as sketching, sewing and textile printing, using both traditional and digital methods.
Supported by the bursary, he was able to secure internships with London-based fashion brands Tondolo and Treddenick, to put his skills into practice.
Harry said: “I feel it’s so important for design students of all disciplines to be supported to gain real-world experience, which not only furthers personal knowledge, but also opens the door to potentially work with companies and contacts again after you graduate.”
Northumbria’s strong focus on real-world experience through experiential learning ensures graduates are equipped with the practical skills and professional networks needed to thrive in a competitive fashion landscape.
Emma Jane Goldsmith, Assistant Professor and Employability Lead in Fashion at Northumbria, encouraged Harry to apply. “This opportunity to work within the industry before graduation helps shape and develop our students, allowing them to put their learning into practice.”
Click the QR code to learn more about studying Fashion at Northumbria.
“EVERYONE DESERVES TO FEEL AMAZING, WHATEVER THEY’RE FACING OR LIVING WITH.”
Final-year fashion students at Northumbria University are transforming the industry’s approach to clothing for older adults through an innovative collaboration that combines style with dignity.
Three students from the School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries, Annabel Dearden, Lucy Salter, and Emily Kitson, have partnered with caring for parents support group and social enterprise Carents, and heritage brand Barbour to develop adaptive clothing for the UK’s ageing population.
The ‘Designed for Dignity’ campaign addresses a critical market gap, with more than four million Britons caring for elderly relatives who deserve stylish clothing regardless of their care needs. The students created groundbreaking designs including trousers with absorbent linings, garments with discreet medical accommodation features, and easy-wear clothing that maintains contemporary appeal.
Emily Kitson’s striking occasion dress, which conceals a stoma bag
through an adaptable flap, was particularly personal, inspired by her boyfriend who lives with Crohn’s disease.
“Currently around 250,000 people in the UK live with stoma bags, yet most fashion brands only design for ‘standard’ bodies,” Emily explained. “Everyone deserves to feel amazing, whatever they’re facing or living with.”
The collaboration emerged from research showing 51 per cent of carers believe stylish, adaptive clothing would significantly impact their loved ones’ lives. With one in four Britons set to be over 65 by 2050, the need for inclusive fashion continues growing.
Barbour designer Anna McMullan, whose grandfather struggled with dressing after a stroke, supported the project. She explained: “Health
conditions can steal so much from people, but they shouldn’t take away your right to feel good in your own skin.”
Dr Jackie Gray, Carents founder, praised the students’ approach: “Fashion should evolve with our lives – with our changing bodies, health, and confidence. These young designers understand that beautifully.”
The project demonstrates Northumbria’s commitment to socially conscious design and positions the University as a leader in inclusive fashion.
Click the QR code to find out more about the Carents Designed for Dignity campaign.
A Fashion graduate who created her collection using pre-loved football strips, including Newcastle United shirts, was among the award winners from Northumbria University at this year’s Graduate Fashion Week.
The garments in Liv Ashton’s collection, named Giz A Fiver, were designed as a celebration of working class culture and scooped a highly commended award on the Northumbria Catwalk at the prestigious event. Graduate Fashion Week is held annually in London to provide a platform for new talent.
The creativity and skill Liv showcased through her final designs were even more impressive after the 23-yearold temporarily lost the sight in one of her eyes earlier this year due to chronic migraines. The condition had an impact on Liv’s preparation for Graduate Fashion Week.
“I found it really hard to pull back and allow myself to recover, but that’s what I had to do,” explained Liv, who received the hospital treatment and support she needed to manage her condition. She went on to use match day scarves and football shirts sourced from charity shops to create garments on a budget — including a military-style poncho which she envisages fans wearing in the stands. “I wanted to create something that was an authentic representation of working-class culture and how I grew up. Because I’m from a small pit village in County Durham, football and Newcastle United were naturally a big part of that.”
Liv’s work was featured in London alongside 21 other Northumbria Fashion graduates. They were all successfully shortlisted across a total of 15 different categories on the strength of designs created as part of their final collections.
Vibrant colours and handwoven textiles, influenced by Sri Lanka’s handloom legacy, dominated the womenswear collection developed by fellow Northumbria student Methulie Jayawickrama. After featuring three times in the shortlist, Methulie took home the Hilary Alexander Sustainable Trailblazer Collection Award and received a special mention on the Northumbria Catwalk.
Judges picked out Nell LinihanPatel as overall winner of the
Northumbria Catwalk whose collection of garments was designed to represent the hues of a cityscape between sunset and dusk. While Emily Kitson’s creations, which include an adaptable garment for people who live with a stoma bag, won her recognition from industry judges and a place on the shortlist for the Inclusive Fashion Award at Graduate Fashion Week. Determined to make fashion accessible for all, Emily is also part of a project called Designed for Dignity, created by the social enterprise Carents, in order to make sure stylish but practical clothing is available for older people in the UK.
After her skills in creating knitwear won her a place on the shortlist for the Fashion Portfolio Award at Graduate Fashion Week, Northumbria’s Beth Harrison-Frater went on to win a nationwide competition with Japanese knit production company, SHIMA, which includes an all expenses paid two-week trip to Japan to gain experience while working with the company. Elsewhere in the class of 2025 at Graduate Fashion Week, Ocean Bryson was chosen of as one of the finalists for the Catwalk Colour Award with Coloro; the pattern cutting skills of Rose Jordan saw her make the shortlist for the Fashion Illustration Award; and a capsule collection for Autumn/ Winter 2025, designed by Kamile Kartunaviciute, has already been named the winner of the Next Graduate Fashion Foundation Design and Trend Competition.
Following their trip to London, and as part of the annual REVEAL degree shows which showcase final year projects from across creative and cultural disciplines at Northumbria, the Fashion graduates hosted a catwalk evening at the University for family, friends and invited guests. The event was supported by fashion and lifestyle brand, Disturbia.
Sarah Walton, Director of Fashion programmes at Northumbria University, said it was “incredibly important”
“MAKING SURE ALL STUDENTS AND GRADUATES HAVE INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE AND THE CHANCE TO BUILD CONNECTIONS SO THEY LEAVE US CAREER READY, IS SOMETHING WE WORK HARD TO DO REALLY WELL AT NORTHUMBRIA.”
for students to lean into their own background and experiences when creating designs. “We find that some of the most successful projects we have are about a student’s cultural heritage,” she explained. “We’re so proud of all the recent graduates who really put the work in to end their degrees with such a positive hands-on experience. Making sure all students and graduates have industry experience and
the chance to build connections so they leave us career ready, is something we work hard to do well at Northumbria. Taking a team down to Graduate Fashion Week is one of the many ways we do that.
“Increasingly, many of our students are entrepreneurial and have aspirations of starting their own brand after graduation, so they also receive first class mentorship from our Graduate
Futures team with support and advice on everything from a business plan to marketing strategies.”
Click the QR code to view a digital runway, showcasing some of the designs by Northumbria’s class of 2025.
NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE GRADUATES KHALIL ABDULRAHMAN AND AMBER MORLEY
Interior Architecture graduates from Northumbria University have presented their innovative solutions to addressing today’s global housing challenges on an international stage as part of the 2025 Venice Biennale.
As a celebration of art and architecture, the Biennale is regarded as the world’s most prestigious and recognised architecture exhibition. It explores themes of politics, as well as contemporary cultural and social issues through an exhibition and installations within a series of Pavilions occupied by countries from across the globe.
Northumbria Interior Architecture graduates Amber Morley and Khalil Abdulrahman were selected to visit the Biennale and present their final year projects within the Austrian Pavilion as part of a collaborative multi-university initiative connecting institutions from across Europe called Unconventional Affordable Housing (UAH!).
The UAH! network includes Schools of Architecture from Italy, Austria and Portugal and aims to explore unconventional housing solutions, enabling students and academics to collectively address the housing crisis in innovative ways.
Before graduating in the summer, final year Interior Architecture students at Northumbria were set a design brief to develop proposals for the reconfiguration and adaptation of an historic building in the heart of Newcastle City Centre into modern living spaces in response to the challenge set by the UAH! network.
Paul Ring, Associate Professor and Head of Subject for Architecture at Northumbria, said: “For Northumbria Architecture to be involved in the Biennale is hugely significant. I would describe it as a career-defining opportunity for our students. In total, we were able to have eight student projects exhibited at the Austrian Pavilion in Venice, with Amber and Khalil selected to present their work in person.”
As part of Northumbria’s partnership with the British Council, two PhD researchers from the University – Tim Ingleby and Harriette Moore –were awarded Venice Fellowships earlier this year, giving them the opportunity to represent the UK within the British Pavilion at the Biennale.
Click the QR code to find out more about the School of Architecture and Built Environment.
“THE CHALLENGE IS UNIVERSAL: PEOPLE OF ALL AGES ARE OVERWHELMED BY TECH DESIGNED TO KEEP THEM HOOKED. FLUID FOCUS IS PART OF A MOVEMENT FLIPPING THAT MODEL – GIVING PEOPLE TOOLS TO RECLAIM THEIR TIME, FOCUS, AND WELLBEING.”
Northumbria alumni, Connor Mason and Glenn Stephenson, were working at consulting firms after graduation when they found themselves unable to concentrate without reaching for their phones. What started as personal frustration became the foundation of a business now helping thousands of students and young professionals, both in the UK, Ireland and USA.
“We were both working in intense jobs but still feeling the effect of this addictive technology,”recalled Connor, who graduated with a Criminology and Forensic Science degree. “It manifested in us going on our phones late at night, impacting our sleep and in the morning, we’d pick up our phones again – a pattern that followed us through the day.”
Despite mostly phone-free university experiences, they had fallen into what Connor describes as “years of conditioning from big tech that pumps billions into capturing attention”.
After a year of research, the pair began working with app developers, with some early support from Northumbria’s Student and Graduate Enterprise team, to create the Fluid Focus app. The innovative approach gamifies focus, allowing users to earn “Fluid Coins” for sustained concentration and for reducing time on distracting apps.
These coins can then be exchanged to enter weekly giveaways worth up to £250 at leading wellness brands,
or donated to Mary’s Meals – a charity providing education and daily meals to children in 16 countries. The scale of the issue becomes clear when surveying students. At Northumbria’s freshers fair, Glenn and Connor interviewed around one thousand new students, discovering screen times that ranged from five to twelve hours daily. Some students averaged even higher. “It was very rare that we saw a student who had screen time of less than five hours,” Connor noted.
A Fluid Focus study of 2,842 students across 18 institutions including Northumbria, found phones were harming focus, sleep and wellbeing. While 70 per cent of secondary school students said phone use affected wellbeing, this rose to 96 per cent at university. Encouragingly, however, 94 per cent of university respondents also said they want to spend less time on their phones and social media. Connor and Glenn are determined to help reset this relationship with technology. They recently secured
£640,000 from 17 investorsincluding former Apple and Airbnb leadership, CEOs, multiple-timed exited founders - to grow their team and expand into the United States, focusing on partnerships with academic institutions and businesses.
Strengthening their impact, the founders have also engaged with policymakers on digital wellbeing legislation, working with former MPs and meeting with the Shadow Education Secretary’s office to advise on phone usage in post-16 groups of students.
Glenn said: “The challenge is universal: people of all ages are overwhelmed by tech designed to keep them hooked. Fluid Focus is part of a movement flipping that model – giving people tools to reclaim their time, focus and wellbeing.”
Click the QR code to find out more about Student and Graduate Enterprise.
Northumbria University has unveiled a new state-of-the-art X-ray radiography instrument in an investment set to boost education and cultural collaboration across the North East and beyond.
The new facility at Northumbria’s historic Burt Hall replaces a vintage medical X-ray unit, originally acquired from Gateshead Hospital in 1978, which served the University’s internationally recognised Conservation of Fine Art Master’s programme for over four decades. Now, conservation specialists can capture higher-resolution images and examine a broader range of materials — from metals and wood to easel paintings, textiles and works on paper — opening new opportunities to study sculpture and musical instruments alongside traditional artworks. Dr Richard Mulholland, Assistant Professor on Northumbria’s Conservation of Fine Art Master’s programme, described the upgrade as transformative: “This new facility brings Northumbria in line with only a handful of UK institutions, including the British Museum and the National Gallery, with expertise and access to radiographic technology. It’s a gamechanger for conservation and heritage science education and research.”
The X-radiography specialism has already delivered remarkable results. During early trials with digital plates supplied by Waygate Technologies, staff and students uncovered a hidden portrait beneath a 19th-century still-life painting bought on eBay. The find — part of a dissertation and upcoming PhD research by student Elliot Keim — revealed a female figure painted on the same canvas, sparking new questions about the work’s history.
Elliot explained: “Through radiographic examination, we can uncover hidden changes beneath the surface, offering a rare glimpse into the artist’s creative process. It places us
STUDENT ELLIOT KEIM WITH THE PAINTING SHE X-RAYED USING THE NEW MACHINE AND THE IMAGE DISCOVERED UNDERNEATH
closer to the hand of the artist and prompts questions that will guide my ongoing research.”
Beyond conservation, the X-ray unit will also be used in music research, notably within the £1.5 million UKRI-funded Global Music Technologies project led by Northumbria’s Dr Rachael Durkin. This includes the Montagu Collection — over 2,700 global musical instruments spanning the 12th century to today — donated to Northumbria by Arts Council England’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme. Dr Durkin said: “Accessing analytical equipment for heritage studies is always challenging. Having
“THIS NEW FACILITY BRINGS NORTHUMBRIA IN LINE WITH ONLY A HANDFUL OF UK INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING THE BRITISH MUSEUM AND THE NATIONAL GALLERY, WITH EXPERTISE AND ACCESS TO RADIOGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY.”
facilities like this on our doorstep marks a step change in our research methods for both staff and students.”
Northumbria’s art collection — which includes more than 3,000 works and archives of celebrated North East painters Norman Cornish and Charles Sims — could also benefit from enhanced imaging capabilities. The launch of the X-ray unit coincides with the relaunch of Northumbria’s Preventive Conservation MA this year, a unique distance-learning course addressing global challenges in heritage care, from climate change to the decolonisation of collections.
Investment in the facility will also strengthen Northumbria’s ties with local cultural partners such as North East Museums, which manages twelve museums and galleries across North East England and the Archives for Tyne and Wear. Dr Mulholland added: “This is a highly specialist piece of equipment which we hope will benefit cultural institutions across the North East through new and existing collaborations, and we look forward to sharing the skills and technology we have on offer here at Northumbria to reveal previously unknown information about heritage
collections within our region and beyond, that will ultimately inform their preservation.”
Northumbria’s Burt Hall has been home to the Conservation of Fine Art Master’s since 1994, but the course’s roots stretch back to 1976 at the Shipley Art Gallery. It remains the only programme in the UK offering a Master’s in both the conservation of works on paper and easel paintings.
Click the QR code for more information on studying art at Northumbria.
PROFESSOR IOANNIS VOGIATZIS, NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY, AND PAUL COURT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF HEALTHWORKS
A powerful collaboration between Northumbria University and awardwinning charity Healthworks is tackling health inequalities across the North East and influencing national policy in the process.
The partnership was forged during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Northumbria, Healthworks and Newcastle NHS Foundation Trust joined forces on a groundbreaking research project into rehabilitation for people living with long Covid. Funded by Northumbria, the project resulted in one of the UK’s first community-based long Covid rehabilitation programmes — a pioneering initiative that went on to inform NHS strategies nationwide.
“This partnership started during a time of great uncertainty,” explained Ioannis Vogiatzis, Professor
of Rehabilitation Sciences at Northumbria University.
“We rapidly mobilised our academic and clinical partners to deliver one of the UK’s first long Covid rehabilitation programmes. That early success led to national research collaborations and demonstrated that NHS-funded community rehabilitation, delivered by organisations like Healthworks, can be highly effective.”
The six-week programme produced impressive outcomes: 85 per cent of participants reported reduced fatigue; over half experienced improved lung function; and a peer-support element strengthened recovery through social interaction. Many participants have since continued their rehabilitation in local community gyms.
Building on this success, the relationship between Northumbria and Healthworks has expanded to include research into multiple health challenges, from hypertension and stroke recovery to cervical screening uptake and safer alternatives to sunbeds. Healthworks now acts as a clinical delivery site
for large-scale studies such as PERFORM (Personalised Exercise-Rehabilitation for people with Multiple long-term conditions), which focuses on rehabilitation for people managing two or more chronic health conditions.
The partnership is also delivering significant benefits for students.
Undergraduate and postgraduate students from Northumbria regularly take up placements at Healthworks, gaining vital experience in community health delivery and research. Many go on to work for the charity, the NHS, or other healthcare providers.
Similarly, a jointly funded PhD studentship is currently exploring community-based approaches to hypertension management, ensuring robust data collection while delivering real-world impact.
Paul Court, Chief Executive of Healthworks and Visiting Fellow at Northumbria, said: “We currently have around 15 Northumbria graduates working with us, in roles ranging from cancer screening and lifestyle interventions to strategic management. This collaboration is not only improving community health outcomes but also building the workforce of the future.”
Healthworks’ status as a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) recognised research site provides Northumbria with a valuable platform for funding bids, patient recruitment, and translating academic research into practical solutions.
The strength of the partnership was celebrated recently at the Healthworks Research and Innovation in
Health event, marking the charity’s 30th anniversary.
The event brought together researchers, NHS partners, students, and local community members to reflect on achievements and explore future opportunities.
“It was a fantastic day of connection, collaboration and conversation,” said Paul.
“We showcased our joint work with Northumbria — from the PERFORM trial to targeted health inequality interventions — and discussed how we can continue developing evidencebased, co-produced solutions that make a real difference.”
As the North East continues to face some of the UK’s most entrenched health challenges, the partnership between Northumbria University and Healthworks is proving that when universities and community organisations work hand-in-hand, the results can be life-changing.
Click the QR code to find out more about research collaborations and partnerships.
A new £1.2 million research project, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will explore how natural viruses found in breast milk might help improve gut health in premature babies, potentially reducing the number of infants suffering from life-threatening complications.
Premature babies are especially vulnerable to gut problems in comparison to babies born at full-term because their digestive systems are still developing. This can lead to dangerous conditions such as necrotising enterocolitis and late-onset sepsis, both of which can occur within the first few weeks of life and are among the most common causes of death in pre-term infants.
This funding from the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) will allow researchers from Northumbria and Liverpool universities and the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to build on an earlier study where 99 mothers who gave birth prematurely at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary donated breast milk samples for analysis.
The research team will now investigate how viruses that infect bacteria, known as bacteriophages, interact with naturally occurring fats found in breast milk, known as lipids, and with the human body that receives them. They hope this will give a better understanding of how premature babies can be helped to develop a healthier gut microbiome and reduce the risk of life-
threatening illnesses. Much of the work will be carried out at Northumbria’s NUOMICS DNA Sequencing Research Facility — a state-of-the-art genomics research lab — where a highly specialised team work with both academia and industry to provide DNA sequencing solutions on a broad range of projects.
Professor Darren Smith, Director of NU-OMICS, is leading the study and explained the benefits could be widespread. “While this specific study focuses on the application in tackling complications in pre-term infant gut development, these approaches could have a much broader application
with phage-lipid complexes helping to store and deliver bacteriophages in the treatment of infection in humans, animals and agriculture.
“The gut microbiome in preterm babies is less complex so it’s a good model to study how phage-lipid complexes affect bacterial community structure and overall microbiome development more fully. It could also help us to better understand the impact of introducing phages on dampening or heightening immune responses and their potential application in mainstream treatment to engineer microbial systems.”
Professor Anne FergusonSmith, Executive Chair of the
“THIS PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO UNLOCK LIFESAVING INTERVENTIONS FOR SOME OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE INFANTS.”
BBSRC, praised the initiative, saying: “This pioneering research exemplifies the vital role bioscience plays in improving health outcomes from the very start of life. By investigating how natural components of breast milk can be harnessed to support the delicate gut microbiome of premature babies, this project has the potential to unlock life-saving interventions for some of our most vulnerable
infants. BBSRC is proud to support this work, which brings together cutting-edge science and clinical collaboration to tackle complex challenges in neonatal health.”
Click the QR code to read more about the research carried out in the NUOMICS lab.
Talented students from Northumbria University’s Business Clinic acted as consultants for a community interest company (CIC) called Dandelion Confidence, providing fresh perspectives and evidencebased solutions to support growth.
Dandelion Confidence is a social enterprise designed to increase the self-confidence and well-being of children and young people. Clara May Warden’s aim when she established the organisation was to empower children to feel happier and calmer in the face of life’s challenges. Students were tasked with developing a comprehensive business growth strategy that would enable Dandelion Confidence to expand its client base. The group conducted a thorough review of the sector and highlighted key target audiences, which enabled them to develop a suite of recommendations.
Clara said: “A close look at the findings highlighted several issues, including a clear need to better engage with private clients and educational institutions, improve our social media engagement and increase the robustness of our financial and organisational management capability. The project was a worthwhile experience in that the students’ innovative ideas and fresh perspectives gave me sharp insights into where the business needed to improve. Their energy, enthusiasm and creativity were a real bonus and I’d definitely recommend the Business Clinic to other CICs that are seeking new ways to grow their client base.”
Sabrina Begum led the student team, supported by fellow Finance and Investment Management students Niyaz Khan, James Lewis and Luqman Suliman. Sabrina said: “It was a great experience to work on this project, which enhanced my problem-solving skills, taught me the importance of teamwork and deepened my understanding of how academic theories translate into business practice. It provided practical exposure to business consulting and strategy development, skills that are highly valuable in the finance industry and will help me in my new role as a Premier Relationship Manager at HSBC.”
Click the QR code to discover more about learning opportunities at Newcastle Business School.
“OUR AIM IS TO GIVE STUDENTS THE BEST CHANCE OF GAINING MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT, PARTICULARLY THOSE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED OR DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS, AND TO HELP ORGANISATIONS SOLVE DAY-TODAY CHALLENGES.”
Northumbria University’s award-winning Business Clinic is being used as a template for similar services in universities across the country and overseas. The team behind the trailblazing education programme, which has its origins in the North East, are providing information and advice to more than a dozen institutions including York St John, Huddersfield, Leeds and Aston in the UK, as well as Deakin University in Victoria, Australia.
The Business Clinic at Northumbria was launched in 2013 by experienced academic and industry specialist Nigel Coates. It is an experiential learning programme which creates opportunities for students to work on live projects, addressing real-world challenges facing different organisations. Through the Business Clinic, Small and Medium Enterprises, multinational organisations, charitable organisations, educational trusts and social enterprises that operate across a wide range of sectors have access to pro-bono consultancy support.
Students work at the Business Clinic in their final year of study, offering clients a full consultancy experience across a range of areas including HR, marketing, business analytics, logistics and supply chain
management. Each project aims to undertake detailed research and make practical recommendations that will benefit the organisation in the short and longer term. Over the last decade, the Business Clinic has delivered 870 consultancy projects, involving more than 3,500 students.
Ed Cottam, Director of the Business Clinic, said: “We are thrilled to be helping other universities trial a concept that has worked so well in the North East. Not only has our experiential learning programme enabled students to apply their knowledge, skills and entrepreneurial talent to find solutions to real-world problems, it has also helped hundreds of organisations to become more robust, competitive and efficient. Our aim is to give students the best chance of gaining meaningful
employment, particularly those from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds, and to help organisations solve day-to-day challenges.
The benefits of our programme are numerous, so it makes sense to support other academic institutions that want to implement similar programmes in other parts of the UK and overseas. This will add value to dozens of other organisations, act as a catalyst for economic growth and create further opportunities for students to get invaluable experience that will help them progress in their chosen careers.”
Click the QR code to find out more about the Business Clinic.
An international team of researchers has been awarded more than £1 million to investigate the growing problem of digital violence against women in a groundbreaking study across Europe.
Advances in technology have transformed the ways violence can be perpetrated. Abuse has increasingly moved online, with incidents targeting women now rising at an alarming rate.
Over the next three years, a Northumbria Universityled project will examine the nature, scale and support needs of women affected by digital violence — which can take many forms. Alongside harassment and threats, it may include the non-consensual sharing, capturing or creation of intimate images, often called revenge porn, as well as upskirting or the production of digitally altered “deepfake” images.
Dr Stephanie Fohring, Assistant Professor in Criminology at Northumbria, is leading the study and says research in the area is still limited. She points to a 106 per cent increase in calls to the national Revenge Porn Helpline in the past year as evidence of the rising scale of the issue.
“Digitalised violence against women and girls is an emerging and deeply concerning issue and the impact on victims can be devastating,” explained Dr Fohring, whose research explores the psychological aspects of violence against women, and their experiences of the criminal justice system.
“It is believed that online abuse isn’t as serious as we understand it to be. We know the impact can be severe for individuals affected, but more generally, it can also have a negative impact on women and girls’ safe access to online spaces, and therefore it is important to raise awareness that this is happening and on an incredible scale.”
Most existing research has been carried out in Australia and the UK, meaning there is little understanding of the picture across Europe. Researchers on this project will fill that gap by including the continent’s largest survey of its kind. It will measure how abuse affects survivors’ wellbeing,
the frequency and type of victimisation, and engagement with support services and law enforcement.
The team will also examine police responses to digital violence, and there will be a particular focus on the experiences of marginalised women, including those from the LGBTQ+ community and Black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Professor Witold Klaus from the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, said: “The same as all forms of
victimisation, digital violence is also not spread equally across societies, and some groups are more exposed to experiencing it. This is exactly the case of queer women and especially trans women. Working closely with LGBTQ+ organisations, our goal is to better understand how this group is affected by digital violence.”
The study brings together researchers from Lleida University in Spain, Orebro University in Sweden, South East Technological University in Ireland, and the
“DIGITALISED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS IS AN EMERGING AND DEEPLY CONCERNING ISSUE AND THE IMPACT ON VICTIMS CAN BE DEVASTATING.”
DR STEPHANIE FOHRING
Polish Academy of Sciences. Funding opportunities for the project have been sourced by Collaboration of Humanities and Social Sciences in Europe (CHANSE), and New Opportunities for Research Funding Agency Cooperation in Europe (NORFACE).
At Northumbria, researchers stress that no single discipline can solve the complex problems of gendered violence and abuse.
As a result, the University has
developed interdisciplinary collaborations to address the social, political, cultural and technological factors that enable such violence to persist.
Discover more about interdisciplinary research on Gendered Violence and Abuse at Northumbria.
A groundbreaking biodegradable battery developed by researchers at Northumbria has captured international attention, winning the prestigious Green Product Award 2025 among fierce competition from over 2,000 applications across more than 60 countries.
The BioPower Cell represents a significant step forward in sustainable energy storage technology, offering an environmentally friendly alternative that could transform how we approach battery production and disposal.
Developed entirely from organic waste materials, the innovative technology addresses two critical environmental challenges facing the global energy sector. Unlike conventional batteries that rely heavily on lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth metals – resources that are increasingly scarce and environmentally damaging to extract – the BioPower Cell contains no toxic materials. Even more impressively, when the battery reaches the end of its life, it can be safely repurposed as a fertiliser, helping improve soil
health and cutting down on waste.
Dr Ulugbek Azimov, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering and the project’s lead researcher, emphasises the urgency of developing alternatives to traditional battery technology.
“By 2030, the world could face an overall shortfall of over one million tonnes of lithium,” he explains.
“Recycling lithium-based batteries is expensive, energy-intensive, and environmentally damaging.
Our battery is different – it’s made entirely from organic waste, available globally, and can cut battery waste by 50 per cent, energy costs by 80 per cent, and carbon emissions by 60 per cent.”
The recent Green Product Award ceremony, held at the Swedish Embassy in Berlin and hosted by representatives from both the German Green Product
Awards organisation and the UK Embassy, recognised the BioPower Cell’s exceptional versatility and environmental credentials. Judges praised the project’s exclusive use of organic materials and highlighted its potential applications across smart homes, green buildings, and off-grid communities.
The success of the BioPower Cell extends beyond academic recognition, representing significant commercial opportunities for the North East. Dr Azimov secured funding through Northumbria and a Northern Accelerator proofof-concept grant to develop the battery prototype. Northern Accelerator, an innovative collaboration between North East universities, has been instrumental in commercialising research and
“RECYCLING LITHIUM-BASED BATTERIES IS EXPENSIVE, ENERGY-INTENSIVE, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY DAMAGING. OUR BATTERY IS DIFFERENT – IT’S MADE ENTIRELY FROM ORGANIC WASTE, AVAILABLE GLOBALLY, AND CAN CUT BATTERY WASTE BY 50 PER CENT, ENERGY COSTS BY 80 PER CENT, AND CARBON EMISSIONS BY 60 PER CENT.”
DR ULUGBEK AZIMOV
boosting the regional economy. The project has also gained recognition from national innovation agency Innovate UK, with Dr Azimov selected for their competitive Innovation-toCommercialisation of University Research (ICURe) and ICURe Exploit programmes, which support the commercialisation of university research. The team is now working towards launching a spinout company to bring the BioPower Cell to market, potentially creating new highskilled employment opportunities in the region.
This award achievement and commercial opportunities reinforces Northumbria’s position as a leader in sustainable technology research and the North East’s growing presence in the renewable energy sector.
Click the QR code to find out more about Northumbria’s School of Engineering, Physics and Mathematics.
A pioneering collaboration between Northumbria University and University College London (UCL) took centre stage at the prestigious 2025 London Design Biennale with an exhibition that pushed the boundaries of architecture, science, and sustainability.
Co-created by researchers from Northumbria University’s Living Construction group and the Beckett Lab at University College London’s Bartlett School of Architecture, the Living Assembly: Building with Biology pavilion showcased cutting-edge biological construction technologies.
Exhibited at the fifth London Design Biennale – an event that brings together leading designers and changemakers to address global challenges – the installation featured a series of ‘living materials’ made from microbes and fungi. The innovative project earned a special mention at the Biennale’s Medal Ceremony, which celebrates outstanding ideas and collaboration across disciplines.
Until recently, building materials have rarely been considered for an environmental upgrade, but researchers are now taking on this challenge, creating a vision for the future in which cities can respond to and interact with the environment and mitigate the damage caused to buildings because of climate change.
“Our research reimagines traditional building components by exploring built environments which are grown, not constructed, i.e. building with biology,” explained Professor Martyn Dade-Robertson, co-lead of the Living Construction group at Northumbria University.
“We are developing living materials which evoke a future where buildings self-construct
and remain dynamically alive to their environment, whilst supporting the health of people.”
Among the innovative displays at the pavilion was materials made from mycelium – the root network of fungi – as well as leather produced by microbes, biological cements, and shapechanging materials. These prototypes are designed for potential use as cements and concrete-like materials that actively absorb carbon dioxide, as well as walls that contain sweat glands to vent humid air, or as a new type of fireresistant insulation.
Professor Dade-Robertson continued: “It has been a pleasure to collaborate with UCL on this exhibition, to outline our vision for a more sustainable future for construction. We are extremely proud and excited to showcase what we have been developing and to continue working towards making living buildings a reality.”
“ OUR RESEARCH REIMAGINES TRADITIONAL BUILDING COMPONENTS BY EXPLORING BUILT ENVIRONMENTS WHICH ARE GROWN, NOT CONSTRUCTED…”
Northumbria’s Living Construction group is part of the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment (HBBE) – a joint initiative between Northumbria University and Newcastle University funded by Research England. The Hub aims to create a new generation of ‘living buildings’ which exist in harmony with nature and are developed sustainability,
reducing waste and pollution typically generated through construction.
Northumbria’s research in microbial biotechnology brings together academia and businesses to tackle global challenges. As part of the University’s BioFutures interdisciplinary research theme, Northumbria is at the frontier of development in
biotechnologies for renewable energy, sustainable materials, bioremediation, and carbon removal and capture.
Click the QR code to find out more about microbial biotechnology research at Northumbria University.
Northumbria Sport has joined partner universities in marking 20 years of the Volunteer Zambia project – a landmark collaboration using sport to transform lives across Zambia.
Launched in 2005, the Wallace Group brings together seven UK universities, including Northumbria, with non-profit organisation Sport In Action to promote sports and health workshops in developing countries like Zambia. Over two decades, more than 1,000 volunteers have supported projects that use sport as a catalyst for education, youth empowerment and community development. The partnership has invested in facilities, trained hundreds of coaches, and engaged hundreds of thousands of young people across the country.
The anniversary was celebrated in Lusaka, Zambia, with the Twentieth Anniversary Gala – a three-day programme featuring sports festivals, recognition of community leaders, and new initiatives such as World Netball and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Zambia. The events highlighted the project’s long-term impact on youth development and community cohesion.
Northumbria has played a key role, with staff and students volunteering in Zambia since 2005. Their contributions have supported sustainable sport-for-development programmes while offering volunteers valuable opportunities to grow leadership, cultural awareness, and professional skills.
One such volunteer is former Northumbria basketball scholar Jack Preston, who took part in 2017. He later became International Sport Development Manager for the Wallace Group and Sport Development Manager for Sport in Action, pioneering community sports hubs now operating across Zambia, Ivory Coast, and Mauritius. Reflecting on his journey, Jack said: “If I had not chosen to study at Northumbria, I’d never have come to Zambia and had such an eye-opening experience. Without that opportunity, both I and thousands of other lives would not have been impacted in the way they have to date.”
As the project enters its next chapter, Northumbria is proud to help build sustainable sporting futures and empower young people across Zambia and beyond.
Click the QR code to find out more about Volunteer Zambia.
A former gym instructor from South Shields who left school with just five GCSEs has achieved a PhD while working full-time as a technician at Northumbria University — and his groundbreaking research could change NHS exercise guidelines for older adults.
Dr Liam Pearson-Noseworthy’s journey from Northumbria’s Sport Central gym floor to doctoral graduate is a testament to determination and the transformative power of education. After leaving school with no clear plans, he secured a last-minute place at Gateshead College to study sports coaching - never imagining he would one day conduct research alongside professional athletes and publish in leading academic journals.
Liam’s path began in 2010 when his college tutor, who also worked at Sport Central – Northumbria University’s £30 million sports complex – recognised his potential and encouraged him to apply for jobs at the then-new facility. He spent five years working at the University’s gym, earning a Queen’s Award for services to sport and health and meeting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at a Garden Party.
In 2015, Liam returned to education, completing an ‘Access to HE’ course before enrolling as an undergraduate at Northumbria University in 2016 to study Applied Sports Science with Coaching. He financed his studies through freelance teaching and professional training work with British Weightlifting and ActiveIQ, alongside government funding. After his degree, Liam completed a Master’s in Sport Science and spent a year working for Newcastle Falcons and the Rugby Football Union. When an opportunity arose to return to Northumbria as a technician for the University’s Sport and Exercise Science laboratories, he seized it. While working full-time, he was accepted onto a fully funded PhD research project, graduating in May 2025. His doctoral research challenges current NHS guidelines that recommend regular, even daily exercise for older adults.
“With professional athletes you’ve got to train them, but not break them,” said Dr PearsonNoseworthy. “That principle fits equally with older adults. My research shows that less can be more when it comes to improving the fitness and health of people in this age range.”
As part of his PhD, Liam worked with elite athletes, including Team GB Skiing and Newcastle Eagles women’s team, applying the same training principles to improve the health of older adults. With nine papers published in leading research journals, his goal is to influence NHS guidelines and achieve real-world impact.
Click the QR code to find out more about the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation.
