Strengthening our community

Middlesex University understands and responds to the changing needs of our local communities so we can actively strengthen and support them. Our campuses support the lifelong learning and social mobility of students and apprentices who discover unexpected potential with us and go on to shape their professions and transform communities. 

Supporting employers 

Meeting workforce demands 

Working with our network of over 1,000 partners – including NHS Trusts, Barnet Education and Learning Service, local charities, and the Metropolitan Police – we prepare our students to move confidently into their future workplace with the work-ready knowledge and skills that local employers need. 

Entrepreneurship and innovation 

Every year, 600 students get entrepreneurial support for business ideas or develop their skills working with business leaders from our network. Through our connections in London, students learn about financial markets from the London Trading Institute and football coaching from Tottenham Hotspur FC Women, while our partnerships with world-leading automation companies such as Festo, Omron and Siemens, and sector representatives like GAMBICA, help provide London with the next generation of engineers and technicians. 

Partnerships on and off campus 

Our partners also help build learning environments on campus, like a smart lab with our partner Festo Didactic that teaches students about AI in the future workplace. In an exciting initiative, Middlesex University Tax and Accounting Clinic actively involves third-year student volunteers who are supervised by a chartered certified accountant to offer free tax and accounting advice to local charities, small businesses and social enterprises and other members of the local community. 

Community education and outreach 

Supporting local students 

Every year, we work with thousands of students in more than 100 local schools and colleges, supporting them to plan their next steps in higher education, apprenticeships and other routes. Our academics support local schools to train T-Level Midwifery students and, with the NHS North Central London Training Hub, we host an annual health and social care careers fair for over 300 students. Also popular is our annual STEM festival which attracts over 500 students from across London to learn more about the opportunities these subjects offer. 

Pathways into advanced learning 

We have partnered with Barnet Education and Learning Service for a Lifelong Learning Agreement for all students studying at Barnet schools and colleges. This commitment guarantees that we will interview or offer a place to one of our courses to every student at a Barnet school or college who has completed our package of support activities and meets the course criteria at the University. 

Celebrating diversity 

We celebrate diversity and champion social mobility through initiatives and events that bring people together in our welcoming, sustainable and inclusive spaces. The University hosts thousands of people from the local community at interfaith celebrations, public lectures, performances, business breakfasts, exhibitions and public celebrations every year from the Big Iftar to STEM Festival. 

Essential public services 

Every year we train over 1,700 nurses and midwives, 3,000 police officers and hundreds of teachers and social workers. Our students and graduates become the professionals who keep London's essential services running and we are integral to the delivery of public services across London. 

Training healthcare professionals 

Our £23M virtual hospital at Saracens Rugby Club StoneX Stadium has cutting edge simulation-based skills facilities to train nurses and midwives for emergency care. Our nursing and midwifery students also gain invaluable real-life experience through the 5,000 placements available, supporting 18 NHS Trusts across London.

Professional development partnerships 

We work in partnership to best support and serve our local communities. Our award-winning partnership with the North Central London Integrated Care System delivers professional training to adult social care nurses, as well as supports student placements. We are also a founding member of the Healthcare Education Consortium, a group of seven universities and NHS Trusts co-designing training programmes and tackling staff shortages. 

Degree apprenticeships 

Our 20 leading degree apprenticeship programmes train much needed professionals for London and the South East. We train apprentice police officers as part of of the award-winning Police Education Consortium, in collaboration with Canterbury Christ Church University, the University of Cumbria and the University of Portsmouth. Our other apprenticeship programmes include nursing, social work, teaching, environmental health, healthcare science, sales, management, digital design and environmental health. 

Making a difference 

Impact on individuals and communities 

We are proud to help people in our community access graduate level work and careers so they can achieve more and feel happier throughout their lives. Collaborating with business, we design courses that help employees become more efficient, advance in their careers and lead others through our Continued Professional Development programmes. 

Influencing community policy 

Advocating for higher education 

We are strong advocates for the benefits of our industry-informed education. We bring the University’s expertise, research and experience to the UK policy-making process at local, London and national level. We always focus on the best possible outcomes for students and wider society, like promoting interfaith dialogue and tackling hate on campus, improving support for student mental health and how the apprenticeship system works.