Birmingham Post, by Tamlyn Jones

Birmingham City University has teamed up with five other institutions across the region to form a new part-nership aimed at increasing growth and prosperity a-cross the region. BCU is a member of the new 'Midlands Enterprise Universities' partnership which will combine the group's collective research, expertise and facilities. The other partners are Coventry University, Nottingham Trent University, University of Derby, University of Lincoln and the Univer-sity of Wolverhampton.  The new partnership will support the Government's Midlands Engine as it focuses on higher level skills gaps, the talent pipeline and innovation requirements in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, transport technologies and creative digital and design. Professor Cliff Allan said: "Our collective aim is to contribute to Midlands Engine productivity and to support and stimulate innovation in the Midlands' supply chains."

ABC Newspapers, by Peter Bodley

New state legislation has prompted the City of Coon Rapids and Anoka-Ramsey Community College to enter into a MOU to address campus sexual assaults. The City Council approved the MOU with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities on behalf of the college. The 2015 Minnesota Legislature made substantial changes to sexual harassment and violence policy on college campuses, one feature requiring each college or university to enter into a MOU with local law enforcement by Jan. 1, 2017, according to Coon Rapids Police Department Deputy Chief Paul Ireland. But the MOU won't change the relationships between the college and police department, Ireland said. "We have always had a very good relationship with the college," he said. "It simply puts in writing what has been happening." 

The Globe and Mail, by Virginia Galt

Like many of her generation, Kishawna Peck had been frustrated by the classic young-job-seeker's conun-drum: How are recent graduates supposed to gain valuable work experience if employers won't hire them unless they have experience-even for entry-level jobs? Ms. Peck and a select handful of others had the chance last year to talk directly to a roomful of chief executive officers about lost opportunities and the challenging labour market for young Canadians and were able to gain insight as to what Canada's CEOs are looking for. There is a greater emphasis on so-called soft skills such as collaboration, problem-solving and communication, and a growing recog-nition that many of these skills are learned outside of the classroom setting. Aon Hewitt's Ms. Avedon said, "Employers acknowledge that we can't just buy leadership talent... we have to build it. 

This college town recently was ranked one of the 20 safest cities in Indiana by an online security firm. SafeWise, which offers security tips and resources, listed West Lafayette as the 11th safest city based on the most recent data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. With 1.03 violent crimes and 11.19 property crimes per 1,000 residents, the city jumped nine spots from No. 20 ranking last year. City police Chief Jason Dombkowski  said the ranking is an accomplishment considering college towns typically encounter more property crimes than similarly-sized cities. "West Lafayette is a small city," he said, "but it has a pretty large footprint with Purdue University." Purdue police Capt. Eric Chin added that the university is one of the safest colleges in its conference. 

Although the region is relevantly affluent, Charlottes-ville, Virginia, has pockets of significant poverty. Almost 6,000 families in the area struggle to meet their basic needs, such as food, shelter, clothing, child care and transportation. As a district for a local congressman in 2009-10, Ridge Schuyler identified a root cause of the problem. "Employers needed workers and workers needed jobs, but the two couldn't seem to meet," he says. "It seemed so fixible-we're a fairly small town." In 2011, Schuyler was hired as the sole employee of a poverty-focused nonprofit affiliated with the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce. While there, he helped created the Charlottesville Works Initiative.  Today, Schuyler is dean of community self-sufficiency programs at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC), where he is expanding the initiative.  

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