Leeds Beckett University, City Campus

We are Beckett

Leeds Beckett University is a modern, professional-based university with a dedicated, diverse community. We work closely with employers and partners to help our graduates become ready for work, ready for life and ready to seize all the opportunities that lie ahead.

Our Impact

We place huge importance on our role as an anchor institution for Leeds and the wider region, maximizing the benefit our presence delivers directly and indirectly to our communities.

Leeds Beckett makes a significant impact to the economy, through our teaching and learning, our research and the value of our spending.

We commissioned London Economics, leading specialist economic and policy consultants, to analyze the university’s economic impact on the UK economy.

Every year, the university delivers a £1.43bn impact on the UK economy. This represents a return of more than £6 for every £1 spent on university operations.

Every student completing a first degree experiences a net earnings benefit of £67,000 and delivers a net benefit to the public purse of £60,000.

This economic benefit sits alongside the broader impact of the thousands of highly skilled graduates we produce every year, and our world-leading research making a difference to the major challenges of the 21st Century such as climate change, health and inequality.

Our strategy

The university has agreed a strategic plan to steer our course for the following five years. 

We have clearly articulated our purpose: to make a positive and decisive difference to people, organisations and communities through excellent education, research, and service.

Our new strategy is based on seven key plans, setting our direction, and sharpening our focus to meet the challenges ahead.

One of the main drivers of our strategy is to equip Leeds Beckett to navigate the anticipated government reforms of higher education, and to enable us to thrive in the new environment these changes will create.

Our impact in numbers

• £1.43bn 
• economic impact
• Our teaching and learning, research and spending deliver a £1.43bn impact on the UK economy every year.
• 6.1 : 1
• benefit to cost ratio
• For every £1 spent supporting university operations, a £6 return is generated for the UK economy - £1.43bn every year.
• £67k
• net grad premium
• Students completing a first degree at LBU experience a net earnings benefit of £67,000.
• £60k
• net exchequer benefits
• Students completing a first degree at LBU deliver a net benefit to the public purse of £60,000.
• 4,015
• FTEs in jobs, of which 2,945 are in the region
• Through direct employment and its impact on the wider economy, LBU supports more than 4,000 jobs including almost 3,000 in Yorkshire and Humber.

Our University

Our education plan sets out our response to the changes to HE and our ambitions for the years to come.

Our aim is to be a globally leading university that is recognised for the outstanding quality and accessibility of its education so that diverse student communities achieve excellent outcomes and thriving careers

Our education courses will reflect Leeds Beckett University’s ambitions. We will develop:

• A flexible learning environment which supports all learners to achieve their aims;
• A coherent academic environment, balancing teaching and learning alongside research and knowledge exchange;
• A stimulating academic portfolio that attracts high calibre students; and
• A supportive and collegiate academic culture, co-creating and building trust between educators and students.

Research and innovation plan

To be recognised globally as an outstanding university generating original, rigorous and significant research.

We will develop a portfolio of globally recognised research expertise, through focused research planning. This will include:

• Research focused on those areas where we have critical mass and a proven track record;
• Academic staff who can challenge excite and motivate students, and who are experts in their fields;
• A culture that values our academic staff as educators and generators of new knowledge;
• Every member of academic staff to develop their individual research plan, built around diversity, cross-school collaboration, and aligned with strategic priorities;
• Collaboration – cross-school, with regional partners in our areas of expertise, and globally;
• A recruitment approach that values the research expertise to support our areas of focus

Workforce plan

To support a diverse community of talented and engaged colleagues to deliver our purpose and achieve their potential.

We want LBU to be a great place to work for people who share our values, and will achieve this by developing:

• Sector leading EDI ambitions;
• An employer brand that attracts the best to LBU;
• A culture of continuous improvement, reward and recognition, and accountability;
• Our colleagues’ skills and careers; and
• An investment in wellbeing and resilience

Alignment plan

We aim to continuously provide excellent, inter-connected and sustainable resources that are focussed on delivering our institutional ambitions.

A culture that promotes transparency, accountability and is clear about our priorities and shared purpose will assist us in being more efficient, effective, collaborative, and flexible. 

A cycle of continuous process improvement will release resource to support our academic activities. 

Reviews of our organisational structure will identify opportunities for common activities and responsibilities to be co-located and will respond to changes in the external environment.

We will examine our technologies, structures, policies and financial processes to make partnership and collaborative working easy at home and overseas.

Excellent data analysis will inform a long-term investment plan that aligns with our strategic objectives. Our annual budget allocation model will be regularly reviewed to ensure it responds to changes in the external environment.

Acknowledging the 17 United Nations sustainability goals, our sustainability plan will influence the stewardship of all our resources, including our estate, our people and our role within the regional community.

Anchor plan

Our anchor plan sets out how we will build on our existing strong foundations as an anchor institution, with the aim of being recognised globally and locally for the positive socio-economic impact we make as an inclusive Anchor, with the people, organisations, and diverse communities of the Leeds City Region

Our anchor objective is to apply our place- based economic, human and intellectual resources to building strong reciprocal relationships which increase the resilience and reduce inequalities in the communities in which LBU is anchored.

To further our anchor work we will adopt the principles of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Progression Framework, and its five areas of focus: governance; employment; procurement; environment and assets; and community engagement.