A UNIVERSITY has pledged to do even more for the city community.

Sussex is one of 30 universities to sign the Civic University Agreement.

This means they vow to expand the role they play in their communities even further.

Vice-Chancellor Adam Tickell said: “We are proud of all that we are currently doing to make Brighton and Hove and the wider Sussex region a better place.

“Ensuring that the university is engaging in a meaningful way with people, organisations and communities at a local, regional, national and international level, is a key pillar of our new vision for the institution over the coming years.

“Signing the Civic University Agreement just strengthens our commitment to serving the community on our doorstep even further.”

The university has a number of successful partnerships with local councils and health bodies.

This includes providing a support service for parents with autistic children and advising council officers on the best approaches to resettling refugees.

There is also a project helping to further understanding of local coastal erosion and predict future changes to local cliff faces, and the UK’s first clinic to prevent family transmission of anxiety.

More than 1,000 students carry out volunteering work in the community each year.

Examples include the Role Models project which empowers students to create and deliver workshops at schools on issues such as mental health and wellbeing.

There is also the Sussex Community Legal Education initiative where third-year law students provide free legal advice on family, employment, housing and welfare law to local residents.

Professor Tickell said: “We wholeheartedly subscribe to the notion that, as a university, we are responsible not only to our students and our staff, but also to the places around us.

“The university is working for a better world for the benefit of people in our neighbourhoods and wider community.”