About Newcastle

Newcastle Upon Tyne is an ancient city in the north east of England, with its foundation dating back nearly 2000 years as one of the northern outposts of the Roman Empire at one end of the famous Hadrian’s Wall. Its long history can still be witnessed in the streets of this vibrant city, from the remains of its ancient Roman wall and nearby forts, to the Norman castle that gives it its name; from the medieval abbey in its centre through to the development of its main thoroughfares from the wealth of the Industrial Revolution.

Throughout its history, Newcastle was an important centre of commerce and trade: situated on the banks of the river Tyne, Newcastle was the gateway to northern Europe. The city became particularly associated with mining and shipbuilding, a tradition of which its inhabitants are rightfully proud. During this period, Newcastle gave the world many of the technologies we now take for granted: George and Robert Stephenson developed the early locomotives that power our train journeys, and Joseph Swan invented the electric light bulb a year before Edison did the same in the United States. Today, this spirit of innovation is carried forward by the many vibrant digital technology companies based in and around the city.

Given its rich history and heritage, there are many sites of interest in and around Newcastle, including Hadrian’s Wall, the Norman Castle Keep, the Blackfriars Abbey and the ruins of the castle and priory on the coast in nearby Tynemouth. Newcastle is also famous for its vibrant nightlife, with myriad bars, pubs, restaurants and clubs in the city centre, and regular music gigs in the O2 academy, Utility Arena and the beautiful Sage Gateshead. 

The cultural scene is one of the richest in the UK, served by multiple museums, art galleries, theatres and independent cinemas — such as the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (housed in a large riverside building that used to be a flour mill), the Laing Art Gallery, the Great North Museum, or Newcastle University’s Hatton Gallery. Sites of natural beauty also abound in the region: the beautiful Northumberland coast is just 30 minutes away by metro and the dramatic Northumberland National Park a mere 20 miles away from the city centre.

Newcastle occupies a privileged decentralized position in the UK, away from the expected centres of London and Edinburgh, while still maintaining excellent connections with Europe and the world. 

Perhaps most famous for world-class culture, award-winning dining, exciting nightlife, acclaimed-architecture, fantastic shopping and a strong passion for sport, one of the things locals are most proud of is its legendary friendliness, ensuring delegates are always sure to feel welcomed and at home. With its easily walkable, compact city centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne is easy to get around on foot, and it also offers great accessibility from across the UK and beyond – London is less than three hours away by train and the international airport connects directly with 80 destinations worldwide. Newcastle Upon Tyne is part of a greater metropolis with Gateshead across the river, Tynemouth and South Shields on the coast, and Sunderland on the river Wear, connected by local transport such as the convenient Metro. 

This promotional video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuauZm5100M can give you an idea of some of the highlights of the Newcastle - Gateshead area. Newcastle University also has a campaign highlighting the contributions in makes outward towards improving society internationally: From Newcastle. For the world.

About Newcastle University

Newcastle University is at the centre of Newcastle’s life. NU began as an outpost of Durham University in the 19th century, finally becoming independent in 1963. NU, then, has the curious mix of being simultaneously an old and new institution, with a rich tradition of excellence in technological disciplines (engineering, physical sciences, etc.) and one of the country’s top English departments.

Today, Newcastle University is one of the country’s leading research institutions, a founding member of the Russell Group (which represents the top 24 research-intensive universities in the UK), and Newcastle University has campuses in Newcastle, London, Malaysia and Singapore. Newcastle University is one of the UK’s centres of excellence for digital innovation and data science, and a member of the Turing Institute.

The University is investing heavily in developing its specialisation in data science and technological innovation. The new Newcastle Helix complex — an urban development bringing together industry, business and research —  hosts the National Innovation Centre for Data. It has also created Centres of Research Excellence (known as NUCoREs): interdisciplinary groups centred around a theme or a global challenge. The Data NUCoRE, crucially, incorporates Text as one of its research strands.

The University is not only at the centre of Newcastle’s intellectual life, but also at its physical centre. The main university campus is compact and situated on the city centre, near public transportation, offering the perfect balance between scheduled conference activities and social gatherings in the city.