Northern voices, making the case

There's a new energy across our universities as the 2026/27 academic year advances. Since our last update, we've welcomed the announcement of No. 10 North as an opportunity to connect Northern research with national growth, and responded to the Northern Growth Strategy consultation; making the case for research-intensive universities to be engaged as essential partners.

We took the conversation to the Labour Party Conference, contributing to the LabourList panel 'Seizing the North's growth moment' which looked at how collaboration between higher education, business and devolved leaders can unlock the North’s growth potential, and a Centre for Cities and Heseltine Institute panel discussion on the role universities play in driving innovation in big cities. In a new article, N8 Director, Dr Colin Tattam, and Prof Tim Jones, Chair of the N8 Board and Vice Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, reflect on those discussions, and set out five practical routes to make devolution work for both Northern growth and UK prosperity.

Making the case is only part of the story. Across the N8, researchers and professional communities continue to turn expertise into practical impact through collaboration with policymakers, public services, industry and communities.

Read on for news from our priority programmes and wider network.

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N8 News

Panellists at the LabourList event 'Seizing the North’s Growth Moment' on 28 September. Left to right: Louise Gittins, Tim Jones, Kevin Craig, Chi Onwurah, Colin Tattam

OPINION Partnership is the key to making devolution deliver Northern growth and UK prosperity

N8 Director Dr Colin Tattam and Prof Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool and Chair of the N8 Board set out priorities for making devolution work for the North and the UK.

People talking in a colourful meeting space

OPINION The joy and vitality of languages

In this HEPI blog post, Fiona Devine (Manchester) and Jo Fox (Newcastle), writing on behalf of the N8 Modern Languages subgroup, showcase the vitality of languages across the North. Highlighting examples from universities, schools and communities, they argue that while challenges remain, there is much to celebrate in the opportunities, innovation and enthusiasm that continue to surround language learning.

Photo by Mike Norris from Pexels. Knaresborough viaduct with train in autumn.

N8 responds to the Northern Growth Strategy consultation

N8's consultation response – published in full online – calls on the government to: make universities delivery partners in the Strategy, complement devolution with pan-Northern collaboration, build and back investable propositions and prioritise innovation throughput, diffusion and adoption.

Programme updates

Child of the North is a collaboration between the N8 and Health Equity North. By acting together and with regional partners, our aim is to translate research evidence into transformative impact that improves outcomes for children living in the North of England and beyond.

Forthcoming reports

Calls for contributions to forthcoming reports on equitable access to play led by Dr Christina Tatham (Sheffield) and young people not in education, employment and training (NEET), led by Prof Mark Mon-Williams (Leeds), have now closed having received numerous submissions. The reports are due to be published this autumn/winter.

Photograph of two children smiling during play

Momentum continues around Connecting Data report

The Connecting data: Intelligent and informed delivery to support every child to succeed report has been shared directly with colleagues in Whitehall and discussions are underway for follow-up activity. Media coverage including the Observer article If data is the new oil, then researchers in Bradford have struck liquid gold and partner amplification continues to ensure that the call for a national rollout of a connected data model is heard.

Cover of the Child of the North report Connecting data: Intelligent and informed delivery to support every child to succeed

The N8 Policing Research Partnership is an academic-police collaboration between the N8 and 11 police forces in the North of England who work together to champion, enable, and support policing research and its impact.

N8 PRP funds four new Agile Evidence Reviews

Led by postgraduate and early career researchers from the N8 PRP New Researchers in Policing Network (NRiPN), the reviews will look at modern slavery, fraud victimisation, the wellbeing of officers in RASSO teams, and child sexual exploitation and abuse. The four reviews will run between October 2026 and May 2027, with reports and webinars to follow.

The back of a police officer in a hi-vis jacket

Dr Emma Tuschick appointed NRiPN Director

Dr Emma Tuschick, an ARC Research Fellow at Newcastle University, has been appointed the new Director of the New Researchers in Policing Network (NRiPN), which supports postgraduate and early career researchers to build skills, connections and collaborations with policing partners.

Emma is part of the research team delivering the N8 PRP Police Priority Grant project, Preventing suicides after release from police custody, and led the 2025/26 Agile Evidence Review: Suicide Prevention Measures During Sexual Offences Investigations.

The N8 Centre of Excellence in Computationally Intensive Research (N8 CIR) focuses on the creation of a Centre of Excellence in CIR methods, skills, and facilities to underpin the strategic research objectives of the N8.

Propose a project for our Summer 2027 interns

N8 CIR's Internship Programme gives researchers and digital Research Technical Professionals (dRTPs) the opportunity to supervise a paid undergraduate intern on a computationally intensive research or digital research infrastructure project. Researchers and dRTPs can now propose projects for the Summer 2027 cohort. Proposals from postdoctoral and early career researchers who want to take their first step into supervising are particularly welcome.

Winter 2025/26 and Summer 2026 internship presentations now published

The N8 CIR internship programme continued to grow in 2025/26, with 25 internships in Winter 2025/26 and 33 internships in Summer 2026. The projects covered a wide range of topics across computationally intensive research, giving students the opportunity to contribute to real research projects while developing valuable skills. Details of the projects and accompanying video presentations can be found on the website.

Eye graphic from presentation by Zhiheng Wang, N8 CIR intern at the University of Liverpool

News from our members

Attendees at Child of the North event in February 2026

N8 universities deliver strong performance in Knowledge Exchange Framework

The results reflect the range of work the North’s research-intensive universities do with businesses, public bodies, charities and communities.

N8 universities join trade mission to India

Senior representatives from N8 universities have joined a coalition of Northern mayors, businesses from across the North of England to India to seize economic opportunities unlocked by the new UK–India Free Trade Agreement.