The Ron Cooke Hub
Supporting engagement between education, business and the voluntary sector
The stunning Ron Cooke Hub is the centrepiece of the first phase of the University’s £750 million campus expansion at Heslington East. This expansion is the physical expression of the University’s ambition to provide world-class research and teaching facilities, and also to collaborate with business and foster entrepreneurship amongst staff and students. At Heslington East, the city and the University are able to work together to advance an agenda of inclusivity and regional economic development.
On Wednesday 23 March, the Ron Cooke Hub hosts three major events that bring together the local government and volunteer sector, local business and science engagement.
The Hub is the latest venue for a meeting of the York Business Forum which will be attended by nearly 100 regional business leaders. York Business Forum provides a communication channel between the City of York Council and businesses in York. Business leaders from over 200 companies, across all sectors, attend quarterly meetings of the forum.
The theme of the meeting is derived from National Climate Change Week and will feature a presentation from Emily Charters from co2sense on how businesses can address climate change. Speakers will also include Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Cantor outlining the University’s vision for developing innovative collaborations with business and Professor Nicola Spence, Chief Executive of Science City York, explaining how Science City York can help York businesses grow.
On the same day, the Hub will host a Higher York ‘policy think tank’ event, focusing on safeguarding vulnerable people. The event features a series of workshops to discuss ways to identify people in need of support in society and routes to refining and enhancing that support. Delegates are attending from the public sector, local authorities, academic community and the voluntary sector.
The Ron Cooke Hub will also be the location for part of the University of York Science Trail activities on 23 March. Organised by the Events Team and the Widening Participation Office, the Trail gives 245 teenagers aged 14 to 16 the chance to work with leading academics and current students from across the University’s science departments. This year, some of those students will have the chance to take part in a psychology workshop on how we see colours, set in a futuristic pod on the lake the Hub.
Science City York, in partnership with the University of York, has also used the Hub as a key venue for events in the York Festival of Science, which finished on Sunday 20 March. These have included the launch event by Ortis and Pollyanna from The Gadget Show, a Science in the City event featuring a huge range of hands-on exhibits and activities, and a performance of the innovative physics pantomime, Ellie the Electron and the Quantum Circus.
Named after former Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Ron Cooke, this flagship building on Heslington East exemplifies the key role that the University of York plays in the city of York’s economic, social and cultural life.
Built with support from the European Regional Development Fund, the Hub houses an integrated network of support for start-up businesses and is part of the University’s pioneering concept of linking businesses to research centres on an academic campus.
But it is more than just a knowledge transfer space. The Ron Cooke Hub also hosts a wide range of business, cultural and social events as well as being the premier social meeting place on Heslington East – exemplified by the daily buzz of networking activity generated from its café.
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