Leicester partnership to improve life for city residents

Leicester City Council is set to start work with De Montfort University on a series of joint projects designed to improve life for residents in the city.

As part of the Local+ launch, academics will become consultants for the authority, applying their own and others’ research into health, technology, psychology and design to key strategic programmes being planned by the council.

The university and Leicester City Council are each putting £50,000 into the project, which takes the DMU Local initiative, which used student volunteers working with the city council on a series of community projects, a step further.

The three keys areas for the first wave of project collaborations have been identified as health programmes, smart cities and the built environment.

Peter Soulsby, city mayor, said: “This is the start of an exciting new partnership initiative. Academics will get the chance to see their work having a real-life impact, while the city council will benefit from the expertise that they bring.

“Working together in this way will help to drive innovation so that we can make Leicester an even better place to work and live. De Montfort University is a major resource for Leicester and I’m impressed with how deeply involved the university has already become in the life of our city. This is a wonderful step for further engagement. De Montfort University is a part of our community and we are very pleased to be working with them.”