Keele University launches ambitious plan to aid post-pandemic recovery

Keele University has partnered with key local and regional organisations to launch ambitious plans to strengthen the area’s recovery following the pandemic.

Keele Deal | Recovery aims to create a powerful and wide-ranging programme of contributions aimed at achieving a major impact on Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire’s recovery and building long-term resilience.

The fourth in a series of Keele Deals agreed with local partners over the last four years, Keele Deal | Recovery will bring together the University’s assets and expertise with those of its partners, including local authorities, NHS organisations, business bodies and community organisations.

The Deal incorporates a number of ambitious projects led by Keele, including a further expansion of the University’s Science and Innovation Park to attract high value digital, life science and food security organisations into the local area.

This latest Deal will also see the University working with local partners to develop responses to the increasing job losses and the changing labour market caused by the pandemic, ensuring that the current and future generations of the workforce are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed.

A further example of the Deal’s impact will see Keele build on its existing partnerships with healthcare organisations to undertake collaborative research into the long-term implications of Covid-19, informing local care planning and supporting clinical education needs.

The event featured a keynote speech from Sir John Peace, Chairman of the Midlands Engine Partnership and Midlands Connect who said:

Keele’s impact on the regional economy will support hundreds of local businesses and jobs, and save 1,000s of tonnes of CO2 emissions. Their focus on recovery – and that of other universities across the Midlands – is an essential cornerstone for the tremendous recovery efforts that are being made, and we all must endeavour if we are to rebuild our economy. It’s clear that the Midlands is leading the way in energy and green growth, in health and life sciences, and in digital connectivity. So I’m delighted to see Keele University, and its partners in the region, highlighting these themes as being so crucial to economic and social recovery. It’s not enough just to have economy recovery alone – we have to help people, of all walks of life, live their life better. And never have initiatives like the Keele Deal been so important to champion collaborative working, and urgent action in these areas, that will allow us to build back – build back better, stronger and greener.

Further information is available at keele.ac.uk/keeledealrecovery

You can read the full press release on the Keele University website.

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