Universities under pressure: can their place-anchor role survive the sector's cash squeeze?

In this guest episode, David and Mike are joined by Professor Andrew Jones, economic geographer and Vice Chancellor and President of Brunel University London, to ask whether universities can keep playing their anchor and civic roles as their finances come under strain. They explore what being an anchor means in the Heathrow functional economic area, an economy roughly equal in size to that of Wales. They cover why long-term industry partnerships outlast grant-by-grant projects, and why Andrew sees economic development as "art and curation" rather than a simple science. They also discuss what a research-intensive technical university looks like, how FE and HE can build better pathways for NEET learners as AI reshapes jobs, and whether universities are becoming more or less rooted in place.