Here’s a good quiz question. What was the third university set up in England, after Oxford and Cambridge?
Durham? Bristol? London?
No, the answer is the University of Northampton. In 1261, King Henry III gave his approval by royal charter for the university, the 3rd in England and 22nd in Europe. However, in an early demonstration of the power of oligopolies, it only lasted 4 years. Henry was advised by his bishops and courtiers that Northampton was a threat to Oxford, so he dissolved the university in 1265, and signed a Royal Decree that banned the establishment of another university in the town. Incredibly, that decree stood for 740 years, until in 2005 the decree was repealed by the Privy Council, allowing what was then University College Northampton to become a new university… again!
So Northampton is a very historic and ancient town. Indeed, it vies with Reading for the title of the largest town in the UK – both of those should really be cities. It has grown steadily in recent decades to its current quarter of a million population, with large firms such as Barclaycard moving in, but there is still lovely rolling countryside and unspoilt villages within a few miles of the centre. In recent years, it has also become one of the UK’s primary logistics centres. The region bounded by Rugby, Corby, Bedford and Milton Keynes, with Northampton at its heart, must include a very high percentage of the country’s largest warehouses and distribution centres.
It is also one of only two towns or cities in England outside London that gives its name to first class professional football, rugby and cricket teams - bonus point if you can think of the other. And I worked there back in 1989, and was acting COO at British Pepper and Spice when the factory burnt down (but that’s a different story…)
The University of Northampton (UoN) now has around 12,000 students, an impressive brand new Waterside campus and is aiming to rise up the league tables, with a particular focus on social value and innovation. For instance, it puts a lot of emphasis on supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and it is one of only 50 universities in the world designated as a “Changemaker Campus”. Its Institute for Social Innovation and Impact (ISII) evaluates and measures the social impact of social innovations in the UK and around the world, as well as exploring the financing of and policy support for social innovation.
UoN is also putting increasing focus onto business purpose and sustainability, with a Centre for Sustainable Business Practices (CSBP), and works closely with business, public bodies and the third sector in the region, in a manner which the older more established universities rarely do in my experience.
I’m pleased to say that given our shared interests, I have recently become one of the external associates of the CSBP. I did my first online session with an MBA group last week, talking about Procurement with Purpose of course, and I hope to do more with the University that might involve teaching, research or consulting. The CSBP leaders I’ve met so far – Adrian Pryce and Dr Chijioke Uba in particular - also seem to be friendly, enthusiastic and clever, always a good combination! So I hope there will be more to report here on my association with UoN over the coming months.