New micro-campus plans for University of Bristol
First steps are being taken towards opening a new micro-campus in South Bristol
Last updated 16th Feb 2025
The University of Bristol is set to partner with Hartcliffe and Withywood Ventures to open a new micro-campus in Hartcliffe, South Bristol, later this year.
The hub is planned to be based at the Gatehouse Centre on Hareclive Road and hoped to provide a space to work with local communities to design a university presence in the area.
It aims to increase the choices and opportunities available to local people, offering short courses, youth training, spaces for new businesses and a nursery.
Professor Tom Sperlinger, Academic Lead for Engagement at the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, said: “This is your university.
“Come and help us shape what the university is, and who it is for, in your community.
“Universities are places where we can all find out more about the world and learn new skills.
“In order to do our work well, universities need to adapt for the challenges ahead.
“The micro-campuses, like TQEC, are spaces for the university to do things differently: learning from our partners, locally and internationally, and developing new forms of education and research where we can work with others on the urgent questions we all face.
“We’ve already gained a lot from the partnerships we’ve formed in Barton Hill.
“We are really excited about getting to know communities and partners in Hartcliffe and Withywood better.
“We have a lot to learn from them.”
The project has been boosted by £178,000 from the Office for Student’s Equality in Higher Education Innovation Fund which will be shared by the University and HWV to design a new place-based micro-qualification.
HWV and the University will run three workshops together to design the micro-qualification with employers, local communities, further education colleges, and adult learners before piloting it twice at no or low cost to the students.
It aims to offer a distilled version of the university experience for people in the local area and to support them seeking further employment or study opportunities.
Lisa Mundy, Strategic Director of Internal Operations for HWV, said: “HWV is really excited to be working with the University of Bristol.
“It’s a great opportunity for people in our community to access a wider range of initiatives and learning opportunities locally.”
Hartcliffe will be the University’s second micro-campus after opening a similar centre at the Wellspring Settlement in Barton Hill in 2020.
Over the past year, the Wellspring Settlement has partnered with 58 local and national organisations, running regular activities such as Power Education’s Homework Clubs and the ‘Little Library’ day following requests from local people.
In Hartcliffe, the aim is for the University to spend the first year listening to local people about how a university presence in the area may work.
In doing so, they aim to offer research, teaching and enterprise activities to add to the ecosystem in Hartcliffe and Withywood.
Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South, said: “I am delighted at the announcement of this investment into community skills education in Bristol South.
“It is fantastic that the University of Bristol is collaborating with an established community organisation like the Gatehouse Centre to give people in Hartcliffe and Withywood the opportunity to develop their skills and further their careers.
“I have long advocated skills training, which is why I am holding my ninth annual Jobs and Apprenticeships Fair at the end of this month.”