De Montfort University (DMU) has officially rejoined University Alliance (UA) to become the mission group’s nineteenth member.
As a former and founding member, DMU’s return will further strengthen the Alliance’s collective voice and reinforce its mission to connect and champion professional and technical universities across the UK.
The Leicester-based university is the second founding member to rejoin in recent months, following Bournemouth University’s return in December.
Under Professor Katie Normington’s leadership, DMU has been delivering its Empowering University strategy and its innovative ‘block teaching’ approach.
This approach allows students to focus on one module at a time with regular assessments, a simpler timetable, and an improved study-work-life balance.
DMU enjoys strong employer and industry engagement, ensuring real‑world application of study and a pipeline of industry‑ready graduates. The university also has significant transnational presence, with a campus in Dubai and partnerships in Cambodia and Kazakhstan.
To become a University Alliance member, prospective institutions are assessed against rigorous criteria, including research and teaching excellence, graduate outcomes, demonstrable knowledge exchange impact, institutional scale, and the breadth of subject provision.
Professor Katie Normington, Vice-Chancellor of DMU, said: “Universities have profound, positive impacts in their local regions but can achieve so much more working in collaboration.
“Joining with the University Alliance, DMU can lend its voice and expertise to a diverse and powerful group of institutions, working with employers to secure new opportunities for students and influencing policy decisions to better help our communities thrive.”
Vanessa Wilson, Chief Executive of University Alliance, said: “We are delighted that one of our founding members, De Montfort University, has rejoined University Alliance.
“DMU’s addition reinforces our central mission to connect and champion the UK’s professional and technical universities – the institutions that play an essential role in driving high-level skills, high-level innovation and regional economic growth for students, employers, communities across the UK. DMU’s history, values and strategic direction align perfectly with this mission, and their return will strengthen our collective ability to shape the national conversation on the future of higher education.”
Follow University Alliance on LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky.
About De Montfort University
De Montfort University (DMU) Leicester has been delivering outstanding education for 150 years, with campuses around the world. DMU uses an innovative block teaching approach, allowing students to focus on one module at a time with regular assessments, a simpler timetable, and a better study-life balance. Its award-winning Careers Team offers guaranteed work experience and lifelong one-to-one careers advice.
About University Alliance
University Alliance (UA) represents 19 of the UK’s leading professional and technical universities. Our members specialise in working with industry and employers. Their teaching is hands-on, and designed to prepare students for careers. Their knowledge and research drive industry to innovate, thrive and meet challenges.
Our members are leading the way in innovation and business support in the green, tech, creative and healthcare industries. They educate 1 in 3 of the country’s nurses. They are leading providers of teaching in healthcare, the creative arts, degree apprenticeships and more.
As the collective voice of the professional and technical universities, University Alliance works to:
- Provide professional networks for leaders and staff at our member universities to share knowledge, learn from each other, and address common challenges and opportunities.
- Run joint programmes across our members, such as the Doctoral Training Alliance, which supports doctoral researchers with career development.
- Developing research, insights, and advice to inform government policy on higher education and related issues, and connecting policy makers with people working ‘on the ground’ in our universities.
- Delivering communications and engagement to inform students, staff, industry partners and policymakers about how our member universities work and what makes them distinctive (applied research, industry partnerships, innovative hands-on teaching).
Our members are: Anglia Ruskin University, Birmingham City University, Bournemouth University, University of Brighton, Coventry University, De Montfort University, University of Derby, University of Greenwich, University of Hertfordshire, Kingston University, Leeds Beckett University, Middlesex University, Oxford Brookes University, Robert Gordon University, University of South Wales, Teesside University, University of West London, UWE Bristol, University of Westminster.
