Who has not walked around Oxford, the ‘dreaming city of spires’, and been in awe of the beautiful college and university buildings? The occasional ‘open’ college door allows glimpses into magical gardens, beautiful halls or chapels. The university and colleges offer a rich menu of events for students, academic staff and their guests, with plenty of opportunities to connect over lunches and dinners.
But, the city has another side to University life: 10 out of Oxford’s 83 neighbourhoods are amongst the 20% most deprived areas in the country, marked by inhabitants facing much shorter life expectancies, lower skillsets and lower incomes than those areas that are least deprived. Around 26% of Oxford’s children live below the poverty line. The relationship between the University and the wider Oxford community has not always been positive, with stone walls dividing ‘town’ from ‘gown’ and strong socio-economic inequalities.
The University of Oxford and many of the colleges have set out to address these divides. Professor Alexander Betts, who is Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs and the University’s Local and Global Engagement Officer, presented the reasons and strategy behind engaging locally at one of Reuben’s Dining with Dinosaurs. Accordingly, the University recognises their responsibility towards the local community and their interdependence, with heavy reliance on the city’s people and resources for it to function and give the best experience to students and staff.
We want to build bridges not walls and find meaningful ways to include and partner with people who are not part of the University.
Professor Betts explained.
Professor Betts now leads a strategic vision for engagement and inclusion, which already entails an impressive range of initiatives and activities reaching out to and involving the local community. Activities range from making University and college sport facilities available to local residents, to outreach and engagement programmes with schools and University volunteer schemes. Students and staff are encouraged to get involved, with opportunities for shared learning. One flagship project for example, is the ‘Local Policy Lab’ in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University and Oxfordshire County Council. The aim is to bridge the gap between local policy and research, offering partnership opportunities between university researchers, residents, local policy makers and community groups. The University aims to be fully ‘inclusive’ and contribute to the economy through job creations, with strategies for inclusive recruitments schemes and career fairs.
Currently the central website for the University’s work on local engagement is still under construction. But students and staff are welcome to get in touch with Professor Betts and his team if they have ideas or want to get involved.
