NIACE is delighted to contribute to the Warwick Commission on the future role of the University of Warwick in Coventry, Warwickshire and the wider region. We are particularly pleased to see such wide-ranging consideration of the future role of Warwick as a major HEI across the initial areas of the Commission’s inquiry (economic impact, innovation, education and training, culture and community, physical and global connections).

It is under ten miles from Coventry Old Council House to Leamington Town Hall, but the second Chancellor's Commission hearing - focusing on Warwickshire challenges and opportunities - provided important juxtapositions to, and some distance from, the city themes of the Coventry event.

Over the next fifty years Coventry expects further University of Warwick (UoW) success, and an even more profound university footprint in and on the city. Coventry will relentlessly leverage UoW assets, capabilities and resources - as a key component of the city's determined, dynamic ambitions.

Welcome to the University of Warwick (UoW) Chancellor's Commission on the future impact of the University on Coventry, Warwickshire and the Midlands. Over the next six months, I shall be working with my colleague Commissioners to enable the University and our many partners to define a longer term vision for UoW and our place in the region.