The Leadership Trust, at Weston under Penyard, is set to play a "key part" in the development plan for a new university in Herefordshire.

At a conference on Friday, at the Hereford College of Arts, delegates including local businesses, educators and councillors pooled ideas which will contribute to bold plans for a 'liberal sciences' university in Herefordshire.

The New University Herefordshire's ambitious plans envisages the first students arriving in September 2016 to study a range of science, technology, engineering and maths courses. It could bring up to 5,000 students to Hereford City and Herefordshire's market towns. One of the proposed campuses is the Leadership Trust site in Weston.

David Sheppard of The New University Development Team, said: "The Leadership Trust is a key partner in delivering cross-curriculum life and work skills preparation. They have an on-going role. It makes sense for part of the campus to be in, or around, Ross and that is certainly our ambition."

Next summer the Leadership Trust will be hosting a two-week "pre-university summer school", for children contemplating going to university. Plans for the event will be launched in October.

The Leadership Trust's Deputy CEO Dr Gaynor Lewis spoke at Friday's conference about how the key mandatory requirements, at the New University, will impart business, leadership and service-to-community education to students, with skills and work experience added to "make our graduates highly employable, internationally".

New University Project Team Leader Karen Usher told the meeting that it was still very early in the process and that they were "three quarters of an inch into a three foot journey.".

Keynote speaker Prof Terence Kealey, vice chancellor of the University of Buckingham, welcomed the plans.

He said: "I believe the idea of creating an 'ivy-league' institution in Hereford should be given every encouragement. I particularly welcome the plan that the new university should be independent, privately funded and not-for-profit."

Prof Kealey also gave advice on how Herefordshire Council could help the process by giving the university space in some some of its vacant buildings.

Karen Usher said "Our next challenge is to recruit a chair of the New University-Herefordshire Foundation. He or she will have to be of national and international standing and lead a small team of charity trustees to raise the £35-£50million that will be needed as well as recruiting an outstanding educator as the first vice-chancellor."

David Sheppard said: "There is sufficient local energy and good will for the project to be encouraged. The priority is to find this figurehead that can help and develop the business plan."

If you are a school careers advisor, a student at or contemplating university, an employer of graduates or have some expertise in higher education then New University Hereford would love to hear from you. You can sign up at http://www.thenewuniversity-herefordshire.org.uk">www.thenewuniversity-herefordshire.org.uk

For more stories in full please see this week's Ross Gazette.