When I first came to the University of Plymouth to be interviewed, two years ago, I did what many people do when they want to understand a place: I spoke to my taxi driver.
As he drove me to my hotel, we talked about the city and how it had changed over the years. Without hesitation, he started talking about the university.
"It's where the growth and development is," he told me. "It's had a really positive impact, the city has changed for the better."
What struck me was that he wasn't really talking about higher education or research. He was talking about what the university meant to his home city's future.
Years earlier, I recall the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mosul telling me that following the devastation of his city, it was rebuilding the university that had given people confidence to return.
Different cities. Very different circumstances. But the same truth. Universities are more than places of learning. They are institutions that enable people to feel hope for the future.
The power of hope
Thanks to our new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, hope has been placed at the heart of our national conversation. And, while policy focuses on devolution and local government reorganisation as drivers of economic growth in every post code, the challenge facing places like Plymouth is not simply how they are governed, but how they create opportunity, engender growth and inspire that much-needed hope.
Place-based, civic-minded institutions like the University of Plymouth are key to the success of that agenda, just as the PM has seen the way Manchester's universities supported improvements there while he was the city's Mayor.
People want to see a future in the places where they live. They want local pathways to good jobs, rewarding careers and prosperous lives. They want to know that opportunity is available not just in a few successful places, but in every community.
Civic universities like the one I'm proud to lead are far more than education factories. We bring together knowledge, talent, innovation and partnership for the benefit of our places. We work closely with businesses, schools, colleges, local government and public services to create the conditions in which people and communities can thrive.
We're the kinds of universities that cannot and do not assume that just because we generate research or attract investment, we are automatically changing people's lives for the better.
We constantly ask ourselves uncomfortable questions, like whether or not the communities we serve can see and feel the positive impact of what we do.
Can a young person see a future for themselves in Plymouth, for example, and can local employers find the talent they need to grow? Can people here look ahead with confidence and pride in the place they call home?
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