According to results from the Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) Northumbria University had the biggest rise in research power rankings among all the universities of the UK. So now the northeast has the strongest research power outside of London. The ranking rose to 23rd, having previously risen to 50th in 2014 from 80th in 2008. Now the city of Newcastle has two research intensive universities, Northumbria and Durham. The number of researchers has surged from 56 in 2008, to 207 in 2014 and 840 today. Not only the quantity but the quality has also risen significantly.
