Our People and Place

Our place

Our prominence in the heart of Birmingham has facilitated our integration into the economic fabric of Birmingham. Aston University is synonymous with the enterprise,  energy and engagement activities which drive this modern  city and wider region of more than two million people.  With a student body that reflects the demographic of  the city, our presence symbolises the best of Birmingham.

We will create an urban university, enabling people to integrate seamlessly with the city centre and where the university is seen as an essential resource for alumni, businesses and the community by:

  • Establishing a physical presence in the city centre by extending the Aston Triangle into the centre and locating staff, students and partners in ‘One Aston’ on Corporation Street
     
  • The relocation of more than 5,000 students, over 100 partners and 300 staff within Aston Business School into the city centre business district).

We will embrace the diverse culture, infrastructure, and opportunities that Birmingham has to offer by:

  • Engaging in partnerships with local organisations that share our aspiration for the continued growth and success of the UK's second city. Acting as a cultural and intellectual resource, we will support the long-term ambition of both the city and the wider region.
     
  • Collaborating with Birmingham City Council to develop public realm that integrates our new hubs and connects the city to the extended Aston Triangle.
     
  • Building partnerships with private and public sector organisations, centred on the campus, to create a compelling innovation district proposition to draw investment, private sector collaboration with our research to create new value and impact.
     
  • Modelling the campus to become the heart of an innovation district that is welcoming, inclusive and gives people a reason to visit, work, play and stay in the area

We will provide the best place to engage with partners by:

  • Activating the B-IQ, leveraging our physical and academic assets and talents to draw in partners and collaborators to build an ecosystem of science, technology and enterprise innovation.
     
  • Using our Alumni Hub as a physical space for alumni at the heart of the city, a facility which adds value to alumni in work and life and enables business with the university.
     
  • Using the Aston for Life platform to create a digital space available on demand to all alumni 24/7; establishing a powerful global online community with user-led networks and tailored personal and professional development.

We will provide the best place to innovate and create by:

  • Enabling businesses and entrepreneurs with access to our human and physical resources on demand.
     
  • Create new business and enterprise hubs a to provide a focal point for business, and to make regular engagement with students, staff and alumni an everyday experience.
Student sitting on green campus

 

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Ben Francis of Gymshark

Ben Francis

CEO and founder of Gymshark

"I choose Aston University because it has a brilliant Business School, and the focus on practical skills and entrepreneurialism - it stood out to me by a million miles. I'm a true believer that if you follow your passion, you dedicate yourself fully and surround yourself with great people, then you will be successful in life".

Students outside Aston Business School


Enabling strategies

  • People strategy
  • Estates strategy
  • College strategies
  • Digital Enterprise strategy

Measures

  • Staff engagement   
  • Best Companies to Work For certification
  • International academic staff ratio (QS World  University Ranking)
  • Industry staff ratio (Innovation Fellows, Industry Fellows, Professors of Practice)
  • Diversity in leadership and governance roles
  • Number of staff completing entrepreneurial bootcamps
  • Number of staff undertaking leadership and management development
  • Community engaged on campus on  university business  
  • Companies incubated / embedded on campus / in Hubs
  • Greenhouse Gas emissions (Aston University estate)
Lecture in progress


Impact

Inclusive:
Our people at all levels and from all backgrounds will be supported to reach their potential and progress in their careers at Aston University.

Our leadership teams will better reflect the diversity of our place, and our campus and nodes will serve as catalysts for collaboration and inclusive growth involving our beneficiaries and the communities we serve.

Innovative:
Just as we prepare our students for the changing world of work, our people will be enabled to embrace and lead innovation for our own organisation for their own benefit. Through our creation of the Birmingham Innovation Quarter (B-IQ) and our Enterprise Hub, orienting our services and expertise outwardly, we will attract innovators and entrepreneurs to the city and support more partners from diverse backgrounds to maximise their potential.

Engaged:
Aston University will be the most engaged university in the region, an influential catalyst, building a transformational ecosystem within our place, providing physical and digital resources for alumni, businesses and the community