20 November 2017 
Cheryl Pick, Projects and Engagement Manager
A new report from KPMG argues that universities are an undervalued force for development. With a presence in nearly every major town and city in the world, universities should be at the centre of regional regeneration and international partnership building.
But too often the potential powers they have are overlooked. Although some universities are leading the way in city-building efforts, more needs to be done to deliver benefits for both universities and the places in which they operate.
Click here to download the report – Universities: harnessing their superpowers
Looking to Toronto as a global example, this report provides some concrete examples of how universities' hidden superpowers can be deployed:
• How universities can team up with cities to solve societal challenges – and why it’s so urgent that they do
• What can be achieved when all the universities in a city come together, for example on a single research project
• How some universities are blurring the lines between campus and city: anything from a laboratory for the city to cinematic lecture theatres
• How universities can be a ‘window on the world’ for the place in which they operate - and how partnerships that cross the globe benefit relations with partners on the university’s doorstep
• The forces that are shaping future local decision making: from city diplomats to powerful city ministries and how universities can engage with them
This report is in follow-up to Connected universities, connected cities released back in February which explored the role UK Universities can play as ‘anchor institutions’.
Mike Rowley
Partner
UK Head of Education
KPMG in the UK
t: +44 (0)121 323 3147
e: michael.rowley@kpmg.co.uk
Justine Andrew
Director
Education
KPMG in the UK
t: +44 (0)113 231 3659
e: justine.andrew@kpmg.co.uk
