by Vicky Passingham , Senior Communications Officer at University of Essex.
The University of Essex has committed itself to improving the prosperity and wellbeing of communities across north Essex by signing a Civic University Agreement with key partners.
The agreement is inspired by the UK Civic University Network which is campaigning to ensure universities maximise their impact within their communities and embed civic aspirations in their work to drive forward positive social change.
The University is proud of its extensive portfolio of local partnerships including the Centre for Coastal Communities, the Essex Centre for Data Analytics and Freeport East, alongside researchers from the School of Life Sciences who are working on a range of projects including the protection of coastal marine ecosystems and Essex native oyster restoration.
For over 20 years, University of Essex students, supported by the Students’ Union, have been making change happen though the VTeam volunteering programme – by giving their time, energy and talents to a host of projects to make a genuine and lasting difference to a wide range of communities.
This remarkable commitment earned the VTeam volunteering programme the King’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2023. Since 2016, over 6,700 students have logged 187,441 hours of volunteering.
VTeam delivers one-off projects through to changing lives with on-going initiatives like the Essex Law Clinic and the Human Rights Centre Clinic.
Their work benefits multiple generations – from young people at school clubs to schemes supporting refugees with language skills and projects helping the elderly in residential homes.
Essex Law School and the Human Rights Centre run several initiatives that support local communities, including the Human Rights Local project which shows how human rights are closely linked to everyday life by working with local and community groups, local authorities and other stakeholders, and the Essex Law Clinic which offers free legal services to the local community, and educates people about their legal rights and obligations.
Our broad outreach programme delivers in-school sessions, community events and welcomes schoolchildren to our campuses to explore higher education and enjoy taster sessions.
We are the lead institution for Make Happen – part of the Office for Students’ UniConnect programme – which aims to increase the number of young people from underrepresented groups who go into higher education.
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In the picture: Students from the Essex VTeam doing a litter pick in the local area.
