Score a winning partnership: football, universities and community engagement
Our next IC Café is a festive focus on the community engagement between Wrexham Football Club and Wrexham University, and the impressive collaboration of three Leicestershire universities and five local authorities.
The connection between football and universities has been strong for some time, whether it’s the influence of the premier league on international student recruitment, the setting up of football universities or universities investing in their sports facilities and scholarships. Some universities have seen the benefit of investing in their local communities by sponsoring their local football clubs and building relationships, such as the University of Portsmouth and Swansea University. Some universities have incorporated this link with the local community into their overall university strategies and aim to harness their local and global connections for mutual benefit.
The Universities Partnership in Leicestershire is an excellent example of this and is unusual in involving collaboration between three universities for the greater good of their region.
Wrexham Football Club has excelled at community engagement and has helped to raise the profile of Wrexham University. The connection with Hollywood will help too!
Join us for an inquisitive and fun discussion about the connection and collaboration of football and university education.
Date: Tuesday 12 December 2023
Time: 11am (GMT)
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Our expert speakers
Katy Davenport
Katy is Head of International for Wrexham University. In this role, she manages the team responsible for international marketing, recruitment, admissions and student mobility. Prior to joining Wrexham in 2022, Katy worked in the international recruitment team for the University of Chester. Originally from the US, Katy moved to the UK in 2011 and has lived in Wales since 2014. In her free time Katy can be found cooking, reading and exploring North Wales with her husband, two kids and cocker spaniel.
Paul Angrave
Paul is Associate Director of Public Affairs at the University of Leicester. In this role he leads on the University’s Public Affairs Strategy, encompassing global, national, and local stakeholder engagement and advocacy. He is the University of Leicester’s lead for, and one of the founders of, the Universities Partnership ‘Civic University Agreement’ for Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland – a partnership that brings together five local authorities and three universities to support the local community. Paul has worked in the higher education sector for more than a decade in strategic, external-facing roles.
