Partners

The University is partnering with Bradford 2025 to enhance engagement by staff and students with the UK City of Culture. BD25 highlights the city’s rich cultural heritage, diverse communities, and commitment to inclusivity. The initiative seeks to harness the power of culture to drive economic regeneration, foster social cohesion, and promote the city’s creative industries. 
 
Our collaboration with Bradford 2025, along with the University of Bradford, will feature a wide variety of activities , including two Year in Industry placements, and a fully-funded PhD scholarship exploring the impact of community engagement.

The University has already invested in new research relationships between its researchers and Bradford artists through a Creative Lab, exploring innovative approaches to health, delivered in partnership with the Bradford Producing Hub. 

In February 2025, the UK government confirmed an investment of £5 million to develop The National Poetry Centre in Leeds – a dynamic hub dedicated to the promotion and celebration of poetry. Its aim is to foster a vibrant community of poets, readers, and scholars through a range of events, workshops, and educational initiatives.   

The Centre will benefit from the University’s academic expertise and research excellence, enhancing its cultural outreach and providing students with unique opportunities to engage with the literary world. This collaboration supports the development of new voices in poetry and strengthens the city’s reputation as a centre for literary innovation.  

Its work will include: 

• engagement with schools and young people; helping them find their voice, giving them the confidence and supporting literacy and creative skills throughout the UK 
• internationally recognised research, regular masterclasses and seminars 
• a newly established archive and poetry library.   

The University is the principal partner of the Leeds International Piano Competition, an international celebration of the piano which started in 1963 and takes place in the city every three years.      

In recent years, an expanded programme of public outreach and education has transformed the competition’s impact in West Yorkshire, including an award-winning piano trail and schools programme. 

Globally the competition has demonstrated leadership around creating greater gender parity and questioning and improving environmental sustainability.   

The 2024 competition was a great success, with outstanding performances, strong support for artists, and a high-quality broadcast that reached over 10.5 million viewers across 123 countries, including China, the USA, Canada, Europe, and South Korea.

The partnership offers a range of excellent long and short-term opportunities for our students, from volunteering to research and music-industry experience. 

Art and culture are an integral part of who we are, and international competitions like The Leeds are a fantastic part of Brand Britain.”

DARE, established in 2007, is a partnership between Opera North and the University of Leeds.  

As two of the UK’s leading institutions in culture and education, Opera North and the University of Leeds blend their artistic and academic strengths. This partnership inspires and stimulates new ways of thinking and working.   

We work together on four areas:  

• Research – creating new knowledge and practice in the arts by connecting academic research with cultural ambition  
• Skills development – cultivating arts practitioners fit for the future through new models of practice-based learning and professional development  
• Public engagement – connecting audiences, practitioners and learners through dynamic programmes and events  
• Collaboration – bringing sectors, organisations and audiences together to collaborate with national and international impact  

We do this through the creation of new work, research, conferences, work-based learning programmes, fellowships, scholarships, and the sharing of ideas and aspirations. These efforts positively impact students, audiences, and the wider sector.