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Lisa Cartwright

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National newspaper names Durham as one of the happiest places to live in Britain

Durham City drone image

The Guardian’s happiest places to live in Britain revealed.

Durham City has been ranked as one of the happiest places to live in Britain.  Journalists at The Guardian used scientific data to work out the happiest places to live taking into account a number of social factors including easy access to countryside and parks, the ability to to see a GP and even proximity to shops. Durham’s medieval streets and confined geography were listed as some of its highlights.

Find out more on The Guardian’s website.

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Former Unilever CEO opens Durham University business school

Durham University Business School

A new university business school facility has been opened by a former Unilever CEO.

Paul Polman, a global business leader and environmentalist, officially opened Durham University Business School’s new Waterside building.

At the opening, Mr Polman addressed the audience of business leaders, academics, and policy leaders, highlighting the ‘extraordinary disruption’ the world is facing and the need for a shift in leadership mindset.

He said: “I would argue we are short of the right leaders we need to succeed – and that’s where you come in.

“It’s in the rough seas where you learn leadership.

“Here at Durham, you already punch above your weight.

“With the opening of this wonderful Waterside building, you are setting yourselves up very well for success.”

Mr Polman, who was previously the chief executive of Unilever, called for business leaders to adopt a ‘net positive’ mindset, asking not ‘how can I do less harm?’ but ‘how can I do more good?’

The Waterside building, which has achieved a Gold SKA rating for sustainability, is located in the heart of Durham city, close to the railway station and city centre.

The new facility complements the existing Mill Hill Lane facility and includes lecture theatres, a financial trading lab with Bloomberg terminals, executive facilities, offices, study spaces, and a Riverfront Bistro.

Durham University Business School, established in 1965, is among the top one per cent of business schools worldwide with triple accreditation from AACSB, AMBA, and Equis.

It delivers research and education in finance, leadership, and sustainability, and has nearly 400 business partnerships.

The opening event was attended by leaders from business, politics, academia, and civic society.

Mr Polman gave the keynote address, with contributions from Professor O’Brien, and Professors Cathy Cassell and Kieran Fernandes, the outgoing and incoming executive deans of Durham University Business School, respectively.

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Exciting new Story launched for Durham

People stood in front of the Durham Story board and banners

An exciting new approach to promoting the county was unveiled yesterday (18 March), with over 80 stakeholders attending the launch of the ‘Durham Story’.

The event, hosted by Durham County Council and Durham University at Gala Durham, was the culmination of a 12-month project which has seen engagement with hundreds of stakeholders from across the region, to identify a compelling new proposition for the county which will showcase Durham on a global scale.

Spearheaded by Durham County Council, Durham University, Visit County Durham and Business Durham, this new approach will see organisations and individuals join forces and unite behind the brand to build the county’s image, identity and reputation, and harness profile-raising opportunities to reach key audiences.

With a clear and consistent approach across multiple sectors, the Durham story will enable the county to engage and inspire potential investors, businesses, students and visitors, whilst instilling pride in our resident and business communities.

The Durham story is an extraordinary blend of beauty, enterprise, heritage, culture and ambition, found in all four corners of the county. It shines a light on what makes us special, the distinctiveness and character of Durham, and the opportunities for the growth, development and promotion of the county. Embodied by four key strands, the Durham story was introduced at the event by private and public sector partners.

Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University introduced the overarching theme for Durham, which sees us confidently championing our regional, national and international role.

Jim Cokill, trust director of Durham Wildlife Trust spoke about the ‘natural lifestyle’ strand – our incredible green and blue spaces, nature and wildlife, and the many ways in which they positively impact residents, businesses, visitors and students. ‘Contemporising and connecting our culture’ is the second strand, highlighting the county’s world-class culture and how it’s brought to life for today’s audiences, which was introduced by Hannah Fox, executive director of The Bowes Museum. The ‘space to innovate and grow’ strand, which focuses on the county as a place for business as well as our strengths within the space industry, was introduced by Arnab Basu, CEO of Kromek. With the final strand of the Durham story, ‘a special city that attracts and radiates’, focussing on the pivotal role the city plays as an attractor for the wider county, was introduced by Emma Gaudern, CEO of EMG Solicitors.

Also announced at the event was the Durham Champions initiative, which will see an exciting new network of individuals helping to shine a light on the county through their own activities, supporting the promotion of the county in a consistent and compelling way.

Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Leader of Durham County Council, said: “County Durham is an amazing place with so much to offer, whether as a place to live, visit, work or invest. And, while we might be tempted to keep it for ourselves, encouraging others to discover what our area has to offer is vital for our future prosperity.

“We want people to think of County Durham when they are looking for somewhere to visit, to know that there are thousands of great job opportunities here and to make us their first choice when looking to set up home. And we want investors to be very clear that we offer a brilliant place to do business.

“The place brand will help us achieve this by cementing the good work that has already been done to develop County Durham’s reputation, through further raising the area’s profile and supporting our economic and social growth.”

Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University added:

“The University works closely with our partner organisations on many projects to benefit the growth, development and promotion of our city, county and region. We very much look forward to strengthening these connections and to highlighting even more prominently all that makes Durham special, telling our powerful story regionally, nationally and globally.”

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New collaboration seeks to attract French visitors to North East England

A family on a bike ride at Raby Castle

Newcastle Airport and destination development partnership, Destination North East England have collaborated with Expedia Group on a new campaign targeting visitors from France.

Capitalising on the new easyJet route between Paris and Newcastle, the digital campaign aims to drive flight bookings, and overnight stays by highlighting the unique experiences visitors can take advantage of when visiting the North East of England.

From coast to countryside, unique historical landmarks, and a standout food & drink offer, experiential activities will inspire French travellers and experience seekers to explore the North East.

This campaign will also amplify the emerging trend of screen tourism, with VisitBritain having launched its own international ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ screen tourism campaign. VisitBritain’s campaign uses the powerful draw of film and TV locations and places seen-on-screen to inspire international visitors to discover more of Britain.

The market will be reached through a digital campaign including onsite media, paid display and paid social media content driving traffic to a dedicated Expedia webpage. The campaign will be able to track hotel and flight bookings, giving the ability to directly link campaign outputs and impact on inbound passengers coming via the easyJet Paris route to Newcastle Airport.

This campaign is being delivered in partnership with Newcastle Airport, NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI), Sunderland City Council, Visit County Durham and Visit Northumberland on behalf of Destination North East England.

John Marshall, Chair of Destination North East England, said:

“Our aim is to double the value of the visitor economy in 10 years and the only way we can achieve this ambition is to tap into international markets and increase overnight stays. Together with our regional partners, we are working to showcase our offer internationally and grow our visitor economy which will have a positive impact for both our industry and our people. We are very excited about working with online travel company, Expedia to showcase the diversity of our region’s experiences – encouraging visitors to stay for longer.  This campaign is testament to what can be achieved when you collaborate and work together towards a common goal – a huge thank you to everyone involved.”

Alice Andreasen, Chief Sustainability & Communications Officer, Newcastle International Airport, said:

“easyJet’s continued investment in the Airport and introduction of new, low-cost routes to key destinations in Europe provides a fantastic opportunity to increase the number of inbound visitors to our region.

“We have been working closely with the region’s destination marketing organisations for many years to promote the North East overseas, and this is another example of how collaborative working can benefit our whole region – with increasing visitor numbers boosting the local economy.”

Rob Torres, Senior Vice President, Expedia Group Media Solutions, said:

“We’re excited to team up with Destination North East England to bring more French visitors to this incredible part of the country, especially with the new Newcastle-Paris airline route making it more accessible than ever. By blending traditional onsite ads with engaging social media content, we’re showcasing the region’s beauty in a way that really connects with French travellers. Plus, with our industry leading measurement and reporting, we’re giving them the insights they need to see the real impact – more interest, more bookings, and more visitors exploring all that North East England has to offer.”

Destination North East England is led by NGI on behalf of the region, working with delivery partners Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham and in partnership with all seven local authorities to unlock the growth potential of the visitor economy.

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New £5m research centre to support North East England’s growing space industry

Two people looking at a starry sky

Durham University has launched a new £5m research centre to support North East England’s growing space industry and lead on the sustainable exploration of the cosmos.

The Durham University Space Research Centre (SPARC) draws upon our considerable and world-renowned expertise in space technology and research.

SPARC aims to be at the forefront of scientific advancement, business development, space law and the sustainable exploration of space.

The centre includes researchers from the University’s departments of Physics, Law, Government and International Affairs, Computer Science and Durham University Business School.

Dr Andrew Aldrin, gave the keynote speech ahead of the centre’s opening.

The son of legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Andrew is Associate Professor and Chair of the Master of Sciences Space Systems, and the Master of Space Operations programmes at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, USA, as well as a leader in the field of space innovation and operations.

Influencing change in space sustainability

SPARC’s goals include providing high-quality training and education to develop a skills pipeline of enthusiastic, creative and highly sought after workers for the regional and national space industry. 

It also plans to engage with industry and policymakers, to influence change in governance and space sustainability.

ESA Lab status

The launch event also saw the announcement that we’ve become a European Space Agency (ESA) Laboratory.

Being part of the ESA Lab network gives Durham access to ESA’s technical expertise, state-of-the-art facilities, and funding opportunities.

It also means further international collaboration, joint research initiatives, and technology transfer opportunities, alongside specialised training and student exchange programmes.

In addition, ESA Lab status provides more opportunity for other academic institutions and industry to collaborate with Durham and access the University’s expertise and facilities in instrumentation, such as telescopes.

Durham’s Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, based at NETPark, in Sedgefield, County Durham, already builds components for some of the world’s biggest telescope and satellite projects, which are helping to further our understanding of space. 

Commercial partners and government agencies who have worked with the University include the UK Space Agency, ESA and NASA.

Space is a rapidly growing sector which supports our improving quality of life and protecting our planet. Now is the time to develop technology and ideas for a sustainable future in space and the establishment of SPARC and our ESA Lab status will support us in achieving this.

Professor James Osborn
Director, Durham University Space Research Centre
A group of people standing in front of a banner which says space research. They are smiling at the camera.
  • (L-R) Dr Andrew Aldrin, Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor and Warden of Durham University; Dr Carly Beckerman, Co-Director of the Durham University Space Research Centre (SPARC); and Professor James Osborn, Director of the Durham University Space Research Centre (SPARC), at the SPARC launch.
Dr Andrew Aldrin stands in front of a display screen and delivers a talk to a room full of people.

Dr Andrew Aldrin gives a keynote speech ahead of the opening of the new Durham University Space Research Centre (SPARC).

A group of people stand in front of a banner saying space research and smile at the camera.

Alison Clark, Head of Culture, Sport and Tourism, at Durham County Council; Dr Carly Beckerman, Co-Director of the Durham University Space Research Centre (SPARC); Professor James Osborn, Director of the Durham University Space Research Centre (SPARC); and Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor and Warden of Durham University, at the SPARC launch.

Publicly accessible research

The event also served as the launch of Light Years – Durham University’s art and space science project, which sits within the regional Into The Light partnership, led by Durham County Council.

Light Years offers another way for us to bring our space research and expertise to the public in an accessible way.