• Skip to content
  • Skip to footer
  • Accessibility options
University of Brighton
  • About us
  • Business and
    employers
  • Alumni and
    supporters
  • For
    students
  • For
    staff
  • Accessibility
    options
Open menu
Home
Home
  • Close
  • Study here
    • Meet us
    • Open days
    • Virtual tours
    • Upcoming events
    • Applicant days
    • Meet us in your country
    • Chat to our students
    • Ask us a question
    • Order a prospectus
    • Our campuses
    • Our four campuses
    • Accommodation options
    • Our halls
    • Helping you find a home
    • What you can study
    • Find a course
    • Full A-Z course list
    • Explore our subjects
    • Our academic departments
    • How to study with us
    • Undergraduate application process
    • Postgraduate application process
    • International student application process
    • Apprenticeships
    • Applying through Clearing
    • Transfer from another university
    • Fees and financial support
    • Undergraduate finance
    • Postgraduate finance
    • Our funding and support options
    • Supporting you
    • Your wellbeing
    • Student support and guidance tutors
    • Study skills support
    • Careers and employability
  • Research
    • Research and knowledge exchange
    • Research and knowledge exchange organisation
    • The Global Challenges
    • Centres of Research Excellence (COREs)
    • Research Excellence Groups (REGs)
    • Our research database
    • Information for business
    • Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP)
    • Postgraduate research degrees
    • PhD research disciplines and programmes
    • PhD funding opportunities and studentships
    • How to apply for your PhD
    • Research environment
    • Investing in research careers
    • Strategic plan
    • Research concordat
    • News, events, publications and films
    • Featured research and knowledge exchange projects
    • Research and knowledge exchange news
    • Inaugural lectures
    • Research and knowledge exchange publications and films
    • Academic staff search
  • About us
  • Business and employers
  • Alumni, supporters and giving
  • Current students
  • Staff
  • Accessibility
Search our site
Brighton rooftops with domes of Royal Brighton Pavilion, blue sky.
About us
  • Your university
  • Governance and structure
  • Working with us
  • Statistics and legal
  • News and events
  • Contact us
  • Your university
    • Your university
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Sustainability
    • Global challenges
    • Community partnerships
    • Educational partnerships
    • Your access
    • Milestones in our history
  • Our community and partners

Public and community engagement

The University of Brighton reaches outside its walls to thousands of people every year. We engage with the cultural, social and economic life of the communities in which we live, work and study.

A culture of engagement is in our DNA. Its roots are in our history as a university that offered education by and for the area's teachers, designers, public workers, engineers and health professionals. Today, our education and research have a real-world collaborative ethos, with a commitment to addressing global challenges by making a tangible difference to lives and environments both locally and internationally.

A key focus of this work over the years has been through the acclaimed Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP). Founded in 2003, its flagship programmes are still at the heart of our public and community engagement activities that span the university. So too are its principles, including the importance of developing mutually beneficial partnerships underpinned by co-production, reciprocity and social learning.

Today public and community engagement is woven across the university. It is undertaken not only by CUPP but also by a variety of teams working across the university, as well as research and teaching colleagues and our students. Together they provide a breadth and depth of activities and multiple ways for us to engage with partners and communities

  • Our Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP)
  • Community engagement
  • Students in the community
  • Research in the community
  • Community university news
University of Brighton 'collaborate' device, bringing community university and engagement together with a plus sign feature

Our Community University Partnership Programme

Group of elderly people at a long table enjoying tea and cakes as part of the University of Brighton's living lab

Community-university partnerships make a difference. They enrich teaching and the student experience, offer innovative ways of engaging communities with research, and provide tangible benefits for local people.

The award-winning Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP) has for two decades supported a series of co-designed projects with local communities that have led to many long-term strategic alliances.

Our two flagship programmes are Brains at the Bevy and the Ignite community-university partnership programme.

CUPP is an outstanding example of how we think learning has to happen in the twenty-first century. It’s challenging the traditionally accepted view that knowing is held by the university and applying is held by the community. It’s a learning partnership."  

Prof Etienne Wenger-Trayner, co-founder of the communities of practice concept.

Please enable targeting cookies in order to view this video content on our website, or you can watch the video on YouTube.

Brains at the Bevy

The award-winning Brains at the Bevy programme is a unique collaboration between the university and an urban community-owned pub.

Since it started in 2016, hundreds of people have attended the programmes drawn by the engaging and topical talks on subjects ranging from the energy crisis to seaside gentrification. The academic often gives the talk in collaboration with an expert speaker from the community and the informality of the venue encourages debate and discussion amongst the audience.

One audience member summed it up: “Brilliant talk, great place – really inclusive, engaging and inspiring atmosphere”. The talks are free and open to all; we just ask you to book in advance.

Find out more about our award-winning ‘Brains at the Bevy’ programme.

Please enable targeting cookies in order to view this video content on our website, or you can watch the video on YouTube.

Ignite - seed-funding of partnerships that grow

Ignite is our flagship institutional programme that supports the development of new or existing community-university partnership projects. It is a fast-track programme underpinned by seed funding, co-production, one-to-one support, and knowledge sharing.

Given how busy community partners and researchers are, Ignite programmes are focused on supporting co-produced projects that can be delivered over weeks and months, not years. So far, we have seen some outstanding results including a booklet for parents to support the mental health of young children to securing £250k+ for research into marine pollutants and being featured on the BBC’s The One Show and Countryfile.

Our latest Ignite 2 programme resulted in 18 community and university partners engaging, in under six months, with more than 350 key stakeholders across five countries: UK, Italy, Greece, South Africa and Egypt.

Find out more about our Ignite partnerships.

Community engagement

Brighton and Hove, pebble beach foreground and pier

Our community and public engagement is woven across the university. It is led by a variety of teams that deliver award-winning archives and public art exhibitions, to community sport.

Universities are a really exciting shared space for people from the community"  

Elsa Montieth, CCA Brighton community partner 

Please enable targeting cookies in order to view this video content on our website, or you can watch the video on YouTube.

Galleries, archives and collections

There are all-year-round opportunities for the public to engage with the university's cultural provision for the community.

Brighton Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA)

The university's gallery, the Brighton CCA, offers the opportunity for public engagement with artists and researchers. It also provides a gallery space open to the community for art exhibitions. Free and open to all, Brighton CCA hosts exhibitions, projects, commissions and research by international emerging and established artists

Find out more about Brighton CCA.

Design Archives

The Design Archives holds world-class collections documenting British design and global design organisations. The team curates a dynamic programme linking content, enquiry and practice through to public engagement activities including exhibitions, events, digital resources and collaborations.

Find out more about the University of Brighton Design Archives.

Screen Archive South East

Screen Archive South East, a moving image collection, offers a distinct historical portrait of life across our region: everything from the development of our seaside towns, to rural village and agricultural life. The archive collects, preserves, researches and provides access to screen material related to the South East region of England.

Find out more about Screen Archive South East.

Audience and panel of experts at a University of Brighton Sallis Benney Theatre event

Events

The university hosts regular participatory events, either through inviting the public onto its campuses or taking its work into other venues through dedicated staff and student project work. 

For example, our inaugural lectures are held throughout the academic year with an opportunity to hear accessible public-facing talks by newly appointed professors

Find out more about our inaugural lectures.

Wheelchair sports players in a circle inside a gym. The back of one person's shirt has the Sport Brighton University of Brighton logo

Sport Brighton sport and fitness opportunities for the local community

Our sports facilities offer a range of services and opportunities for members of the public and community groups and organisations. The Sport Brighton team also undertake a number of flagship community-focused programmes. These include coaching for Brighton Wildcats, a programme to support girls age 5 to 11 to get involved with football.

Find out more about Sport Brighton.

Students in the community

Students sitting around desk pointing to documents

Engaging with the local community is central to the values of the University of Brighton and students are given every opportunity to work with local schools, charities, businesses and organisations through placements and projects.

I'm so grateful to the University of Brighton for encouraging students to go out there and do what they can with the community and develop their own skills and experience." 

Nadia Hammond, student volunteer 

Please enable targeting cookies in order to view this video content on our website, or you can watch the video on YouTube.

Active Student

Student community engagement has a long history and takes place at considerable scale across the university. Community placement modules are established where research links directly to local community interest areas. For example, marine pollution, urban ecology, sport media, fashion communication, hospice care, and primary school English and drama supported by the National Theatre. We continually evolve this work and respond to interest from community partners and students. For example, increasing the number of ‘live’ briefs, such as co-developing a charity’s branding.

Find out more about how to recruit a student volunteer.

Two women seated at a table discussing

Mentoring programmes

Local people and organisations are a key element of the success of the University of Brighton's innovative mentoring programmes. Community volunteers are trained as mentors to support our students, and many of the mentoring programmes have a focus on inclusivity and diversity:

  • Men in Primary
  • Uni-Amex LGBTQ+
  • Identity Match
  • Momentum

We also have ‘Uni+School’ programme where university students have an opportunity to mentor school children in the local community.

One of our alumni, John-Paul Kunrunmi, explained how positive this experience had been for him and his mentee: "I took up the opportunity to mentor students from secondary schools that were also from the black minority ethnic group. Mentoring the students was a great way for us to connect on our shared experience and a way to let them know that higher education is an option for them."

Find out more about how to become a student mentor.

Aerial photo of Moulsecoomb campus showing high-rise buildings with cityscape towards the coast

Widening Participation Team

We have a longstanding commitment to widening participation and undertake outreach work with students from underrepresented backgrounds. Our engagement begins with pupils at primary schools and continues to year 13. Our activities include a number of Saturday clubs such as Formula 24, where secondary school students work with academics and university students to build and drive their own racing car. The Chemistry Club gives secondary school students experience in cutting-edge science in university-level laboratories. We have been delivering our flagship post-16 summer school for over 15 years, where year 12 students spend four days at the university and experience academic tasters and social activities.

Find out more about our widening participation programmes.

Research in the community

Man in sea fishing jacket leaning over boat to pull at industrial oyster net.

Co-researching new knowledge is part of a process that can bring mutual benefits to communities alongside researchers and students.

Below are some of the many successful ways in which academics have co-produced research with community members and students:

There is no doubt that the University of Brighton plays a global leadership role in partnership research. We appreciate learning about the diversity of excellence through CUPP."

Professor Budd Hall, UNESCO Co-Chair in Community Based Research

Logo for resilience group Boingboing with smiling, bouncing faces on the letter I

Resilience for social justice

The Centre of Resilience for Social Justice and its social network, Boingboing, have championed co-creation in response to community resilience for over a decade.

Their innovative Resilience Framework has been applied to an £11m, multi-partner, co-produced programme in Blackpool (2016-22), one of the UK’s most deprived towns. Led by Blackpool Council, it was one of five strategic investments by Lottery HeadStart and has delivered a range of social impacts, including training for over 70,000 public sector practitioners. A manifesto for community development was published with commitment from 18 organisations. 

Find out more about resilience research.

Please enable targeting cookies in order to view this video content on our website, or you can watch the video on YouTube.

Football 4 Peace

Through its research-informed programmes, Football 4 Peace has pioneered ‘values-based’ sports training and coaching programmes. Originally developed to support conflict resolution in Israel and Palestine, its programmes now operate around the world to address division, inequality and injustice. Since it started in 2001, Football 4 Peace has worked with over 12700 children and 1100 coaches in 87 communities. 

Find out more about Football 4 Peace.

Please enable targeting cookies in order to view this video content on our website, or you can watch the video on Vimeo.

Inclusive arts practice

Inclusive arts provides a meaningful platform for self-expression, helping to combat exclusion. Over two decades, University of Brighton artist and academic Alice Fox has expanded traditional forms of engagement with performers and the public to broaden the scope of inclusive arts. Across diverse sectors and communities, the work has enriched the cultural offer and the lives of specific, often marginalised, community groups, built new public and professional audiences for inclusive arts, and enabled partners to engage new audiences, giving their work legitimacy and licence to experiment.

Find out more about inclusive arts practices.

Group of school children sat at a wooden bench, drawing and discussing with large map on wall behind.

Community21– designing active local communities 

Community21 brings communities together to tackle the issues that affect them most. Building teachable, shareable skills in making, technology, craft and design, it has supported communities, NGOs and industry partners in addressing twenty-first-century issues and creating sustainable and social development. Operating locally, regionally and globally, the many award-winning projects facilitate engagement and collaboration between researchers, students and communities.

Find out more about Community21.

Community university news

Rear end of bright red double decker bus with universities destination sign, Brighton and Hove logo and the legend study, shop , meet, eat, club, home

Can e-bikes, e-cargobikes and e-scooters reduce UK carbon emissions? Have your say and win a prize.

Can e-bikes, e-cargobikes and e-scooters reduce UK carbon emissions? Have your say and win a prize.

With a new survey, researchers in three UK cities are asking whether “e-micromobility” could make travel easier, healthier and reduce carbon emissions.

Where do the Stonehenge stones come from? Opening of new season of ‘Brains at the Bevy’ tells all

Where do the Stonehenge stones come from? Opening of new season of ‘Brains at the Bevy’ tells all

The latest season of University of Brighton’s award-winning Brains at the Bevy programme gets under way on 3 May.

Newly surfaced films bring Stonehenge’s geological heritage to life.

Newly surfaced films bring Stonehenge’s geological heritage to life.

With World Heritage Day upon us, we celebrate the activities that led to a precious piece of Britain's prehistory revealing its hidden secrets.

Top tips for marathon running. Our best marathon training tips before, during and after race day

Top tips for marathon running. Our best marathon training tips before, during and after race day

For marathon runners, looking after yourself is vital before during and after race day. Our Brighton experts provide top tips to help you run the 26.2 miles.

Students and staff join Community Spring Clean

Students and staff join Community Spring Clean

University of Brighton students and staff joined the local community to clean up the area around Moulsecoomb station as part of the Community Spring Clean 2023.

Inaugural public lecture explores shaping of identity through life challenges

Inaugural public lecture explores shaping of identity through life challenges

A public lecture by leading academic Professor Rusi Jaspal will examine how people create identities amid life's struggles, especially when facing prejudice.

Displaying 1 to 6 of 71 Next Previous |
Tweets by @cuppbrighton
Back to top
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn icon

Contact us

University of Brighton
Mithras House
Lewes Road
Brighton
BN2 4AT

Main switchboard 01273 600900

Course enquiries

Sign up for updates

University contacts

Report a problem with this page

Quick links Quick links

  • Courses
  • Open days
  • Order a prospectus
  • Academic departments
  • Academic staff
  • Professional services departments
  • Jobs
  • Privacy and cookie policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Libraries
  • Term dates
  • Maps
  • Graduation
  • Site information
  • Online shop
  • COVID-19
  • The Student Contract

Information for Information for

  • Current students
  • International students
  • Media/press
  • Careers advisers/teachers
  • Parents/carers
  • Business/employers
  • Alumni/supporters
  • Suppliers
  • Local residents