Northumbria University is a leading centre for energising creative practice and academic study. Working in partnership with a range of stakeholders, we seek to nurture talent and, through meaningful engagement, business innovation and knowledge creation. We also aim to support and grow the economic, social, cultural and intellectual capital of the region and beyond.
Northumbria’s cultural partnership approach is at the heart of what the University does. Our strategic partnerships for example with BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and New Writing North are exemplars of that approach creating thriving, stimulating communities of artists, practitioners, students, and staff who collaborate with experts in fields of science, the environment, health and medicine, to generate new ways of thinking and creative practice.
Realising creative potential and creating capacity to challenge and question permeates all of our activity and manifests in the way we support clients, partners and industry in co-creation and problem solving, so that we ensure research is informed and inspired by the needs of the economy – through disseminating and communicating directly with our partners, business and sectors.
This approach has been exemplified through our work in Creative FUSE North East, led by Northumbria School of Design. Drawing on the combined expertise of the five regional universities, Creative Fuse North East has set out firstly to map the CDIT sector in the North East and then to catalyse new ways of working between businesses, freelancers and academics. This has been approached through 30 innovation pilots, funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council, a range of ERDF and Arts Council-funded business support activities, including innovation workshops and student placements, and then over 25 monthly CAKE (Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange) events bringing together a diverse range of businesses, freelancers and academics. The core of the project has been to explore the concept of Fusion – the combination of ideas and skills from creative, design and technology disciplines – to provide businesses with a potent mix that can support growth in terms of staff, products and sustainability.
