Northumbria University’s transformation over more than a decade into a research-intensive modern institution has seen it scoop the coveted University of the Year title at the 2022 Times Higher Education Awards.
Northumbria’s vision of becoming a “challenger” university offering a “credible alternative to more established institutions” was first set out in 2008 and was completed in 2021 with a Research Excellence Framework submission that recorded the biggest rise in research power of any UK university for the second REF in a row, a measure that reflects academic strength across the campus.
But the judges noted that Northumbria had not lost sight of its role within its city and region, drawing 40 per cent of undergraduates under the age of 21 from widening participation backgrounds and placing as many graduates into highly skilled employment across the north-east as all the Russell Group institutions combined.
