Keele in context

Keele was founded as a University College in 1949 with the sponsorship of three local authorities, receiving its Royal Charter in 1962. Keele continues to be true to its pioneering vision to make a difference to society through inter-disciplinary education and research. Since 2017 we have restated our commitment to the local area through a series of Keele Deals.

The University plays a key role in driving regional economic growth, supported by its growing research base, and the Region’s transition to Net Zero. We contribute £0.38bn to the regional economy each year, and have delivered CO2 savings of over 10,000 tons in the last 5 years. In 2021, the University was named Global Sustainability Institution of the Year.

About the University

Keele is located between Manchester and Birmingham in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, part of the North Staffordshire urban conurbation which also includes Stoke-on-Trent. At 250 hectares, Keele’s campus is the largest single campus environment in Europe.

13,500 students now study at Keele. Our teaching and research spans humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and health. Our Medical School was founded in 2003 and now compares with the most highly ranked in England.

Our research base has grown by over 75% since 2014, with 80% recognised as world leading or international excellent in the most recent Research Excellence Framework exercise. Research from all three of the University’s faculties (Humanities and Social Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, and Natural Sciences) performed strongly, with particularly strong performances in Allied Health Professions, English Language and Literature, Engineering
(Bioengineering/Regenerative Medicine and Chemistry), Public Health, Health Services, Primary Care and Physics. We have also developed strengths in areas of smart systems and artificial intelligence.

The University’s role in the economic and social life of the area is as important today as it was 70 years ago. This is supported by well-established University-owned science and innovation park. The main centre for high value employment locally, the Park is home to eight Innovation Centres, housing 60 companies. It contributes £75m a year in GVA to the regional economy and has grown by 25% in the last five years.

A mixed-use environment, the campus has provided the setting for the unique Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND) which uses the campus as a town-scale ‘living laboratory’. Installed in partnership with Siemens, the demonstrator provides a platform for research, development and innovation in the smart energy technologies required to address climate change.

The Keele Deals

Since 2017 we have re-stated our commitment to working for the benefit of the local communities through a series of Keele Deals.

The 2017 New Keele Deal (now referred to as Keele Deal | Economy), the first and most ambitious Deal, supported a plan to deliver £70m of investment by Keele University, Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, and the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership to exploit the potential of Keele University’s world-leading research and facilities.

Its aim was to tackle low productivity and improve business competitiveness in the region, deliver a significant number of higher value jobs for the next 20 years, contribute to improved health and healthcare, and grow a culture of innovation in the local business community. The Deal also committed to saving around 4,000 tonnes of CO2 per year and put our region at the heart of the UK’s transition to a lower carbon economy.

That Deal led to the creation of one of the largest University Local Growth and Regeneration Programmes nationally, achieving £70.6m in investment to date to support local growth. Further Deals have since been agreed to address other needs and priorities in the local area - Keele Deal Culture, Keele Deal Health and Keele Deal Recovery.