Higher education matters. It consistently delivers a range of economic and social benefits and impacts to a wide range of stakeholders through leadership in teaching and learning, in education, research and knowledge exchange. Today we operate in a fast-changing environment and that demands of us to be more agile, entrepreneurial and impact-focused than ever before.

In our roles as Vice-Chancellors and senior leaders of Birmingham City University, Coventry University and the University of Wolverhampton — working collectively as the West Midlands Combined Universities (WMCU) partnership — transformation has never been an abstract strategy.  It is a lived reality and central to each of our institutional missions. It is a core component to delivering a more inclusive, productive and sustainable society. It is applied, place-based, student-centred and framed against creating opportunity and transforming lives.  Our collective ambition is simple: to deliver excellent education, knowledge exchange and partnerships that directly improve and transform lives and places.

Our results speak for themselves and are concentrated around a series of strategic themes, each of which frame our respective institutional priorities. These are

1. Place-led leadership.

2. Skills and employability delivering student success.

3. Quality and impactful research translation and knowledge exchange.

4. Digital and physical transformation of assets.

5. Social mobility as an institutional driver.

6. Driving Culture Change

1. Place-led leadership

Universities are increasingly recognised as anchor institutions with responsibilities that go beyond teaching and research. Place-led leadership means aligning university activity with the needs, assets, and aspirations of local communities.

For example, WMCU partners are pivotal to the development of the constituent parts of the West Midlands Combined Authority regeneration plans, particularly through our investments in partnerships with local partners. Our city-centre campuses are deliberately designed to stimulate economic and cultural growth as well as social inclusion.

We shape economies through our new schools and hubs in priority regional sectors like creative industries, healthcare, engineering, and construction. Our work with regional skills consortia demonstrates how universities can drive inclusive growth beyond traditional academic outputs.

WMCU, while globally connected, continues to prioritise local impact through cultural investment, civic engagement, and partnerships with the Public, Private and Communities of the West Midlands.

Place-based transformation is not new for WMCU. For over a decade, our institutions have been integrating civic purpose with academic activity — a model now widely discussed in sector debates as “Universities 4.0.”

2. Skills and employability delivering student success

Student success cannot be measured by degree certificates alone. It depends on employability, career readiness, and the ability to thrive in a dynamic labour market.

We are reorientating large parts of our curriculum around innovative delivery models for applied industrial skills, working closely with FE colleges, independent providers and regional employers. We focus on delivering the skills needed by the employers in our economies.

We have pioneered immersive simulation-based training, preparing students for professions that demand practical readiness from day one. Our global outlook also gives students the chance to gain cross-cultural exeorience valued by employers.

WMCU focuses on practice-based, industry-facing education. From music and media, engineering and construction to business and law, courses are designed in collaboration with employers to ensure graduates are workplace-ready.

In each case, the link between skills and employability is explicit. WMCU partners see student success as inseparable from graduate outcomes, not just in terms of employment rates but in building the resilience and adaptability that the future workforce requires.

3. Quality and impactful research translation and knowledge exchange

The research landscape is shifting. Excellence is no longer measured solely by publications, but also by translation into practice and knowledge exchange with partners beyond academia.

WMCU has built strong reputations in applied research fields such as transport, health technologies, and design innovation, often in partnership with global industry.

But we recognise the need to apply our own strengths in Research and Knowledge Exchange into our own places. WMCU plays a key role in regional R&D an Innovation ecosystems, from materials and physical science, through transport and clean tec to advancements in healthcare, ensuring that research supports the region. More than that we actively support the development of Commercialisation and Intellectual Property, recently undertaking to synthesis and standardise our practices in this important area of activity through our Digispin WM programme.

We are distinctive in our practice-led research, particularly in the creative industries and applied social sciences, where outputs feed directly into business, policy, and community outcomes.

Collectively, WMCU demonstrates how knowledge exchange is a transformative force. By embedding research into local, national, and international partnerships, our universities specialise in translating ideas into tangible economic and social impact.

4. Digital and physical transformation of assets

Transformation in higher education is not only intellectual; it is also about reimagining campuses, estates, and digital infrastructures. These choices reflect institutional strategies and business models.

WMCU has undertaken to work collectively on a range of programmes ranging from exploration of shared online platforms for estate and asset utilisations, through to tendering for common and shared services.

Digital innovation underpins these strategies: online platforms, blended learning, and data-led student support are now core infrastructure. For WMCU, digital and physical transformation are inseparable, and both are leveraged to sustain financial resilience while maximising impact.

5. Social mobility as an institutional driver

Social mobility has always been central to WMCU institutions. Our student bodies are among the most diverse in the UK, including the highest proportions of first-generation, mature, commuter, and international learners in the country.

Our commitment to Social mobility is not defensive; it is transformative. By championing social mobility, our universities align directly with national policy priorities on levelling up, productivity, and inclusivity and embrace the richness and diversity of thought innovation and experience that this brings. For us, social mobility is a strength, not a compromise.

6. Driving culture change

We believe true transformation in the sector will only be sustained when organisational culture is aligned. We understand that Universities must reimagine how they operate and how they are seen — internally with staff and students, and externally with partners.

WMCU fosters a culture of co-creation with communities and employers, ensuring its outputs are trusted and relevant.

We are embracing entrepreneurial culture at scale, creating agile governance structures that support innovation between institutions and across geographic borders.

WMCU also looks to play a leading role in supporting wider cultural change by embedding collaboration into its DNA — across a diverse range of partners including FE, NHS, local authorities, and business consortia.

We believe culture change is also about resilience: preparing institutions to withstand policy volatility, financial pressures, and shifts in student demand. We are demonstrating how to build adaptive, forward-looking organisational cultures.

Ahead of the curve

Government and Commentators increasingly emphasise place-based partnerships, civic leadership, and digital transformation as the next phase of sector evolution – with ‘collaboration’ being the golden thread for success. For WMCU, these are not aspirations but long-established practices. Our institutions have been living this transformation for years, often in challenging contexts.

We believe WMCU demonstrates what a place-based future-facing higher education sector can look like: civic, global, inclusive, digitally enabled, and resilient.

Transformation in higher education cannot be reduced to slogans. It requires action across multiple fronts. The WMCU partnership shows that even in these most challenging policy and financial environments, universities can lead, innovate, and thrive.

Our collective message is simple: transformation is not optional. It is the defining task of our time, and it is one we are committed to delivering for our students, our staff our places, and our society.