Industry and business links
One of the University of Sunderland's key strategic objectives is to support the regional economy through its links with business and industry.
Its relationship with large multinationals like Nissan is well documented. Steve Pallas, Nissan's training manager at Washington, highlights this:
"We knew that we needed a step-change in the use of digital technology in the manufacturing operation to keep ahead of our competitors. Our partnership with the University of Sunderland was critical in raising the skills levels of our employees, enabling them to use digital engineering tools throughout the operations."
The University interacts and supports companies from across many sectors. In 2009, for instance, it showed it is well placed to help drive the regional investment in the digital industry. As a key player in Sunderland Software City, which is inspiring and encouraging the growth of the software industry, the University is providing the region with highly skilled digital workers.
This is vital, as the region needs top quality graduates to create a first-class skills base in the region to take advantage of exciting new opportunities.
The development of the digital sector across the North East is a tremendous opportunity to drive up skills, boost enterprise rates and make the region more outward looking.
The University continues to collaborate with private organisations to ensure they are getting the graduates they need.
A very exciting development in 2009 was the £3.5m launch of a partnership between the University of Sunderland and One North East to search for the UK's best graduates.
The University is actively looking for high calibre computing or science graduates who have the potential to make an impact in software development and applied sciences in the region.
