Giving back to our community
As the country’s first civic university, the University of Birmingham has a proud tradition of giving back. This means making our research widely available to any and all who want to see it, sharing our expertise and insights for the greater good, and putting back into the local communities that surround our campuses.
The sustainable benefits we bring to the City of Birmingham
Engaging with and serving our local community is deep within our University’s DNA . In addition to being one of the region’s major employers - directly supporting 1 in 50 jobs in Birmingham and more than 13,000 jobs in the West Midlands - we are proud to bring countless other benefits from a sustainability standpoint to the City of Birmingham and the surrounding areas.
The Exchange: connecting the City of Birmingham to the University’s sustainability research
Based in the historic old municipal bank located in Centenary Square in Birmingham City Centre, The Exchange is a place for communities to shape ideas and solutions together, to make our cities and regions better places to live, work and learn.
We want to openly share our knowledge and resources to drive positive change and support others on their sustainability journey and we are especially committed to supporting Birmingham and the wider West Midlands to embed solutions to address sustainability, biodiversity and climate-related challenges.
Explore our exhibitions, join us for our family-friendly interactive workshops and see how we're working to tackle local and global challenges with collaboration and change.
Recent events have included a full day of events hosted by the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action (BISCA), and a theatre production in which the Birmingham Plastics Network and Stan’s Cafe used tabletop drama to explore plastics and their degrees of sustainability.
For the latest information about our programme of events, visit What's On at The Exchange.
Nature City
The University of Birmingham's Edgbaston campus contains a range of important habitats. Positioned at a crucial intersection in Birmingham’s network of green spaces, the campus represents not only a local ecological resource but also an important natural capital asset for the city. Our campus plays a role in nurturing local and regional nature recovery networks. We are working to ensure our campus is a biodiversity refuge and a stepping stone in wider ecological networks to support the landscape of our city and directly contribute to Birmingham’s status as the UK’s first Nature City.
Urban riverfly group.
The Birmingham River Champions is a pioneering citizen science project monitoring, led by the University of Birmingham to monitor watercourses across the West Midlands. The initiative is assessing the health of Birmingham’s highly urbanised rivers, while upskilling volunteers and fostering a sense of stewardship towards their local waterways.
Business Engagement in our City
We support and partner with businesses in our region, from large corporations to local start-ups, to share expertise, boost competitiveness, help secure our city’s future as an important centre for business and innovative industry.
We have invested in the development of Tyseley Energy Park to work towards overcoming the region’s energy, business and social challenges. Tyseley Energy Park and the Energy Capital partnership will help to deliver a greener ecosystem for the West Midlands and shape the way the City of Birmingham develops infrastructure for renewable heat and power, energy storage and clean transport fuels.
To support the improvement of air quality and associated health, environmental, and economic benefits in the West Midlands we have established WM-Air - The West Midlands Air Quality Improvement Programme. The programme involves collaboration with key partners and brings together a multi-disciplinary team to tackle regional air quality issues and to develop policy toolkits to reduce air pollution in the West Midlands.
We work closely with the West Midlands Combined Authority on meaningful initiatives for the region, including sustainability and climate resilience.
Birmingham In Action
The largest fundraising campaign ever launched in the Midlands, Birmingham in Action aims to tackle some of the greatest challenges facing society and to create more opportunities for young people from less advantaged backgrounds to access university.
Schools outreach
We work with pupils and school staff in local and national schools and colleges to run a wide range of programmes, events, resources, and opportunities to encourage participation and engagement with university study. Previous events have included the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences' Climate Change Challenge and in-class talks to A-Level Students from the College of Life and Environmental Sciences. Through BIFoR Education, we provide free, engaging, curriculum-linked activities to support pupils in KS3, 4 and 5 and help nurture a growing community of citizen scientists!