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Welcome

Realising Opportunities (RO) is a unique collaboration of leading, research intensive universities, working together to promote fair access and social mobility of students from groups underrepresented in higher education.

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Professor Ella Ritchie
OBE, Chair of Realising Opportunities, Emeritus Professor at Newcastle University

Realising Opportunities was launched in August 2009 and was funded for a three year pilot phase by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS).

Following the pilot, the RO universities committed direct funding to the Partnership.

The RO Programme provides able students with skills and information to help them not only make informed decisions about their future and to raise their aspirations to progress to a leading research intensive university, but to support their current work in school/college. Students are supported throughout the Programme by their local RO university and a dedicated ementor who is a current student at one of the RO universities. Successful completion of the RO Programme gives students the opportunity to have their achievements recognised through UCAS, resulting in additional consideration and the potential for alternative offers from the RO universities.

To find out more about the recognition offered by the RO universities please refer to the Recognition Guide.

RO has a robust evaluation framework which not only tracks students through the programme and their HE applications but aims to understand the impact the programme has had on participating students.

Being part of a research intensive university involves me in the most recent research in my subject area… which is crucial for a job market that constantly demands you to be up to date

Nicola, RO Student 2010-2011

On the RO programme, you are exposed to a wealth of opportunities. The best experience for me was a week-long residential where I stayed in University halls

Naazia, RO Student 2010-2011

I had no idea what a research intensive university was before taking part in RO

Raelle, RO Student 2010-2011

RO has encouraged me to work harder to achieve the grades I want so I can get into a research intensive university

RO student, 2012-2014

I learned how to structure assignments and look for reliable sources to get information from

RO student, 2013-2015

My UCAS application was much stronger, but more importantly I feel I gained valuable skills that could be transferred to university

Robert, RO Student 2010-2011

The opportunities that these students are being offered are exciting, enriching and enlightening

Gill, Careers and Vocational Links Coordinator at a school working with the University of Sussex

Universities

The RO Partner universities are research intensive universities (RIUs).

RIUs produce high quality research which makes new discoveries possible, and contributes to increased knowledge for the good of society; RIUs seek to address global problems with cutting edge research. Teaching is research-led in a vibrant environment which makes for an exceptional student learning experience.

As such, the RO Partner universities have:

Leading academics and tutors, who are experts in their field.
Vibrant learning environments where new discoveries are being made.
Cutting edge facilities thanks to the investment associated with research.
Top careers guidance and strong links with business.
World-renowned reputations which are highly valued by employers.

The RO Partnership released a comprehensive Impact Report in December 2016 which you can view here. Please note, the figures available in this report will vary from the updated figures throughout the RO website.

You can find out more about our partner Universities by clicking through below:

The wide geographic locations of the RO universities offers students increased geographical mobility around England.

The map below shows the locations of the main campuses or buildings of the RO universities. The contact information provided below is the general public information. If you have an RO specific query, you can use the Key Contacts list to find the relevant details.

Research at RO universities

At research intensive universities:

New discoveries are being made
Facilities are cutting edge
Research is being carried out to help address problems in the wider world
Researchers are experts in their fields and their enthusiasm and passion is shared with students studying at the university
Teaching at all levels is research- led or research-informed
There are strong links with business.

Students at research intensive universities benefit from:

Research-led teaching which creates vibrant learning environments
Opportunities to develop transferable skills which are valuable for employment and further study
Investment in cutting edge facilities
Careers Services which are able to establish and maintain strong links with businesses to ensure ongoing employment and development opportunities for their students and graduates
Through their collaboration with business, research intensive universities can also offer companies the benefits of research findings and give students opportunities to develop invaluable skills.

These skills include:

The ability to critically evaluate
Problem solving and analytical skills
Independent thinking
Time management
Communication skills

You can read more about the kinds of research taking place at our partner universities here

Central Team

The RO Central Team co-ordinates the Programme on behalf of the RO partnership.

Barbara Herring

Senior Project Manager

I was the first in my family to go to university and I have a degree in Politics from Durham University. I then studied part-time for a Masters in Global Governance at Northumbria University, whist working as a Progression Coach in a school in Newcastle.

Before joining RO in 2010, I worked in Widening Participation and Student Recruitment at Newcastle University. My role involves having overall responsibility for the management of Realising Opportunities and the work of the Central Team.

Hilary Wilkinson

Project Manager

I joined the RO Team in September 2017, after working for over 13 years in Student Recruitment and Widening Participation at Newcastle University.

I graduated from Northumbria University in 2001 with a degree in Marketing, which I chose as I really enjoyed a marketing module I took at school. During my degree I had the opportunity to work in the Student Recruitment Team at Northumbria University. This introduced me to an area of work which was to become my chosen career.

My main responsibilities within the RO team include overseeing the delivery of the Academic element across the Partner universities.

Laura Draper

Project Coordinator

Having always loved learning languages and cultures I always knew that I wanted to go to university and study them. After graduating in 2012 from Newcastle University with BA Honours in French and German I moved abroad to start my first job.

I joined RO in February 2017 after completing a graduate scheme for Higher Education management.

My role involves supporting the delivery and development of the RO programme, working closely with students, the RO Ambassador and Partner universities. My main responsibilities include the National Student Conference, online support and marketing and communications.

Charlotte Crossley

Project Assistant (Programme)

After taking a year out to work full-time and save money for university, I moved from my family home in Derbyshire to study BA English Literature at Durham University. At school English wasn’t my strongest subject but it was definitely my favourite!

After graduating, I worked in the alumni office for two years at Durham, before I joined the RO Central Team in August 2016.

My main responsibilities include managing student queries and communications, as well as maintaining the RO website and RO’s social media channels.

Rena Lapidaki

Project Assistant (Partnership)

Having been a part of Realising Opportunities as a student, I joined the RO Central Team in June 2019. RO gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed to apply for university, and I started my degree in English Literature at the University of St Andrews in 2013.

After graduating, I researched my MLitt at Newcastle University – during this time I also worked as a CV adviser at the University’s Careers Service. After completing my research I went on to work in the International Office at Newcastle, before joining the RO Team.

My role involves providing administrative and technical support to the RO students and Partner Universities; I oversee programme recruitment, database development and data management.

Organisations we work with

At Realising Opportunities (RO) we work with a wide range of organisations to support the RO Programme in various ways. Please follow the links below for more information:

Ansbury are a third sector careers company who provide us with data support.

Brightside is a charity that helps the young people who need it most achieve education and career success. They have developed our ementoring portal and work with us to make sure both RO students and their mentors get the biggest possible benefits from their ementoring experience.

DX Net Solutions provide us with technical and database support.

Generation Medics works with RO to provide medical and health careers information, advice and support for RO students considering a career in medicine or health.

The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) independently evaluates the RO Programme.

The Nuffield Foundation is an endowed charitable trust that aims to improve social well-being in the widest sense. It funds research and innovation in education and social policy and works to build capacity in education, science and social science research.

UCAS provide RO with data support.

We work with the University Clinical Apptitude Test (UCAT) to ensure RO students interested in medicine are aware of and prepared for the UCAT test.

Research and Evaluation

RO has a robust evaluation framework in place to build an evidence base for the work of the Partnership. The framework is focused on gathering a mix of qualitative and quantitative information and evidence from students, teachers, parents, Higher Education Institutions, the national pupil database and UCAS.

The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) independently evaluates the RO Programme.

Evaluation
Report

Evaluation Infographic

Impact
Report

For comprehensive impact and evaluation reports on the RO Partnership please click above.

Professor Ella Ritchie
OBE, Chair of Realising Opportunities, Emeritus Professor at Newcastle University