Community commitment
Located in the city centre and one of Southampton's major employers, Southampton Solent University is centrally located and committed to playing a leading role in the local community. 
The University has strong local links across the city as well as national and international connections which it uses to make a significant contribution to the economic, social and cultural development of the region.
The community is very important to the University and this is reflected in its mission and objectives and is increasingly becoming an integral part of Southampton Solent University's work and study.
Volunteering by students and staff has long been common practice at the University which aids community relations and social responsibility amongst the student body. In an important step, the University has developed units to give students academic credit for work with the community and local business, under its new Curriculum Plus programme.
The University also offers many community-benefiting facilities such as Test Park, Sport Solent's state-of-the-art community sports facility.
The Community Relations team works closely with local agencies and authorities to encourage community engagement and pro-community projects which see both students and non-student residents working together to the benefit of the city. Many of these campaigns have been nationally recognised.
The University's Widening Participation team also plays an important role in the community, working to increase the number of people from under-represented groups attending and succeeding at university.
Other work sees local businesses benefiting from training, consultancy and research, and our education liaison team work closely with schools and colleges across the region in a variety of educational and cultural initiatives.