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Leeds Beckett announced as finalist for Northern Lights University of the Year award
The Northern Lights 2017 received entries from across the North of England and Leeds Beckett has been shortlisted for the ‘University of the Year’ award.
The Northern Lights 2017 winners will be announced at an inaugural ceremony in Manchester on Tuesday 21 February, which will be hosted on the first day of the UK Northern Powerhouse International Conference and Exhibition.
Designed to celebrate business excellence and collaboration across the North of England, the ceremony will honour the companies and individuals who have been instrumental in working together and driving forward plans to help make the UK Northern Powerhouse a reality.
Covering a wide range of diverse sectors, categories include Northern Powerhouse Business Personality of the Year, Northern Powerhouse Corporate Responsibility Award and Northern Powerhouse Export Company of the Year.
The awards are organised by The UK Northern Powerhouse International Conference and Exhibition, and are judged by the group’s advisory board, which is chaired by Lord Bob Kerslake and made up of prominent business figures across the North of England, including Alexandra Jones (CEO, Centre for Cities); Pat Ritchie (CEO, Newcastle City Council); John Mothersole (CEO, Sheffield City Council); Roger Marsh OBE (Chair, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership LEP); and Sarah Green (Director for Member Relations & Regions & Nations, CBI).
Keith Griffiths, Managing Director of UK Northern Powerhouse Conference, said: “The Northern Lights 2017 recognises and rewards firms across the North who are attracting investment and growth into the region. We want to celebrate businesses from every sector, from public sector to property, who are helping to make the UK Northern Powerhouse a reality.”
Professor Peter Slee, Vice Chancellor at Leeds Beckett, said: “We are delighted to have been named as a finalist in these awards and, alongside the other short-listed universities, to be able to highlight the powerful impact higher education has on regional growth.”
Leeds Beckett are this year a corporate sponsor of the UK Northern Powerhouse International Conference and Exhibition, which is supported by business leaders from across the major cities of the North. It will include interactive sessions with top firms such as Nissan, Cisco and Stobart Group, as well as the Confederation of British Industry, Institute of Directors and Federation of Small Businesses. Leeds Beckett Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Slee will chair a session at the conference entitled, ‘The Northern Powerhouse – More Important than ever following Brexit’.
The conference is the biggest cross-sectoral gathering of Northern businesses in the UK. It will be held in Manchester Central on 21 and 22 February and is expected to attract more than 3,000 delegates over two days.
Topics being addressed during the conference include manufacturing, transport and infrastructure, finance and delivery, devolution, competitiveness and productivity and energy. Leeds Beckett’s Enterprise Services will host an exhibition stand and will be promoting how the University are currently contributing to the Norther Powerhouse agenda.