Warwick District Council is pleased to have the opportunity to make a submission to the Chancellor’s Commission on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Warwick University.

Although the University campus straddles the border between Warwick District and Coventry City Council’s areas, this Council considers the University to be very much part and parcel of Warwick District not least because it is also home to many of the University’s employees, its students, and because its contribution to locally based businesses is significant. The contribution that the University makes to the life of Warwick District in all respects is welcomed and valued, notwithstanding that its presence also creates some issues.

‘People come to Warwick not because they didn’t get into another University, but because they want to be part of Warwick’. This was the vision of the ethos and values of the University of Warwick, presented to a delegation of young people from across the community by commissioner and alumna Emily Walsh. It was a personal commitment to the view that the way in which Warwick engages with the local community, and the values that underpin this engagement, are uniquely Warwick, and are fundamental to the institution.

The vistas over London from Warwick Business School's facilities at 'The Shard' provided an appropriate backdrop for the Commission's 4th November National Policy Symposium. Attended by national and local stakeholders, this event, on the cusp of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR2015), considered how national policies and programmes might support University (UoW) contributions to Coventry, Warwickshire and the Midlands over 2015-20 and beyond.

Globalisation is firmly embedded in the University’s strategy and major achievements have been made against strategic targets, with the University of Warwick now in the top 50 ranking of world universities. The University has links with universities overseas; it has a growing population of alumni living around the world; it has international volunteering programmes helping educate children in India and Africa.

It was a pleasure to present the ongoing work of the Chancellor's Commission at the 20th October event convened by Universities UK. However, possibly of greater relevance, is how the attendance of 40-50 delegates from around 30 HEIs evidences this topic's increasing importance in University policy agendas.

The WMG Academy based in one of the University’s closest neighbourhoods, Canley, was an ideal venue for our third Commission Hearing – focusing on the challenges and opportunities in communities and neighbourhoods where the University of Warwick (UoW) has a major physical, student or employee footprint.