Collaborative outreach projects

Uni Connect brings together 29 partnerships of universities, colleges and other local partners to offer activities, advice and information on the benefits and realities of going to university or college. The programme was set up in 2017 to support the government’s social mobility goals to rapidly increase the number of young people from underrepresented groups going into higher education. Partnerships focus their work on local areas where higher education participation is lower than might be expected given the GCSE results of the young people who live there.

Phase 3 of the programme began in July and is due to run until July 2025 subject to annual funding consultation and confirmation. The first aim of phase 3, which is informed by the previous two phases, is to contribute to reducing the gap in higher education participation between the most and least represented groups.

The Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (neaco) consortium includes all of the higher education providers in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, including Anglia Ruskin University. neaco works closely with schools, Local Enterprise Partnerships, Opportunity Areas, local authorities and other stakeholders.

At the centre of neaco’s approach is the Take Your Place framework which focuses on improving students’ understanding and preparedness towards applying for higher education, developing their passion and ambition towards the idea of higher education, as well as making informed choices to enable progression.

Find out more at Take Your Place.